Eyes of the Tiger
by EK
Summary: COMPLETE. A file with a photo of an incredible lookalike. A new case makes Ban learn about a possible descendant, and a look into a possible future. How will it affect him, and the partnership? nonyaoi
1. Chapter 1: doppleganger

Hello. I am EK. Thank you for reading this first chapter. The concept is based on a notion I've had ever since I've seen GetBackers. I hope you like it. For the most part I'll be using the English equivalents of the taunts and name-calling, sorry. Suggestions and comments are really welcome.

………………………………………………………

"WHO the hell took in the case?!"

The think tank of the two-man retrieval team stomped around the Honky Tonk and gave his two blond associates angry stares. The former Thunder Emperor cowered behind the bar counter, the secretary-of-sorts calmly twirled her hair. Natsumi went to the kitchen, Paul sunk deeper into his newspaper. This was a typical afternoon at the headquarters of the GetBackers. But this was not a typical meeting.

"I go out for some smokes. I come back and Natsumi congratulates me on a new client. No call, no message on the cell phone. You know we're all out of money, and we need a big case. I'm the one who decides what that big case is. Why was I not told?!"

"Well, you guys wouldn't go out and search for the big clients yourself, so I took the liberty, as always, to find them for you," Hevn rolled her eyes. "And this is the thanks I get?"

"And you weren't around when the client came, so I agreed for the two of us," Ginji's head popped up from behind the counter, then ducked again.

Ban sighed. "So what cat-in-the-tree, old-lady-crossing-the-street, missing-doll, no-commision case did you get us into now, Ginji?"

"Give them a little more credit, Ban," Paul murmured from behind the newspaper. "The case they got made the papers today."

"Really?" Ban cocked his purple glasses up to his eyes. "Lemme see."

Paul handed over his newspaper, pointing at a certain headline. "Jade Exhibition at the National Museum".

_The National Museum opened today its exhibition of jade statues and jewelry, the finest created in the last 2 centuries. More than two thousand people are expected to attend this exhibition during the coming month. Included in the exhibition are jewelry manufactured by the best craftsmen in all parts of China and other Asian countries. _

_To celebrate its fiftieth year of operation, the museum unveiled a magnificent replica of the famous Jade Dragon, made by the world-renowned artist Hiyazawa Miroku. The organizers consider it a disappointment that they have not been able to acquire the statue itself for the exhibition. The legendary statue is reputed to be the largest made out of the finest jade in China during the late 1800's. The best collectors of the twentieth century have tried, and failed, to find the statue, making critics consider its existence a hoax. _

Ban's head nodded with interest as he returned the newspaper to Paul.

Hevn showed Ban the picture of the client, a wiry man in his thirties, wearing a dark and formal suit. "Chan Feilong. The client claims that the Jade Dragon is real, and priceless. He also claims that his organization knows who the last known owner was. They're now asking for your help in finding information about the current whereabouts of the Jade Dragon. It doesn't have to be the dragon itself, the client said; any good information you dig up will be sufficient for you guys to get paid."

"And the payoff is……….?"

"A million dollars, aside from all expenses incurred," Ginji's head popped up again.

Ban rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Of course, if we managed to get the Jade Dragon itself……."

"You'll be paid double the agreed amount," Hevn completed.

He calculated the figures in 2 seconds, and rubbed his hands together with glee. "Oh…….kay………..so what do we have to work with?"

Hevn led both retrievers to a table, and opened a folder before them. Ban began to leaf through the facsimiles of old documents, while Ginji looked at the photographs in the folder. Ginji raised one after another in quick succession, then he stopped at the last one.

"Yeesh, the documents here are at least a hundred years old!" Ban exclaimed. "1878! Is that guy crazy? This Jade Dragon must have changed hands plenty of times already! 4 wars have passed!"

"Um……..Ban-chan………" Ginji tapped Ban on the shoulder.

Ban mumbled to himself about the client's name, address, and contact information. A respectable jewelry business was backing up the client, and a little catalogue of the other jade articles in their collection was placed in the file.

"Ban-chan, take a look at this………" Ginji tapped him again, but was ignored.

He then found the information about the last owner of the Jade Dragon, from a century back. A well-known, well-feared boss in the Shanghai underworld. A high-level weapons dealer, trading even in warships. Back then he was the only one rich enough, and with enough connections, to acquire the statue for himself. Only the official police documents of the time gave the man's name. Evidently the newspapers only knew him as the White Tiger.

"Ban-chan………" Ginji gave him a few more taps.

"What IS it, Sparky?!" Ban brushed away his partner's hand with irritation.

Ginji pointed to the picture. "Ban-chan, why does the man look EXACTLY like you?"

It was only then that Ban took a good look at the copy of the last owner's daguerreotype. He drew it closer to his face, then pulled it back. He placed it on the table, then brought his nose closer to it.

The man in the picture wore a white Chinese shirt over white pants, both obviously made of rich silk. He looked very young, in his twenties, when the picture was taken. He had the bearing of one used to authority and power, as he sat on a large laquered chair. But these were not what drew the retriever's attention.

The man in the picture had eyes and a chin that were oddly out of place with his clothes. Perched over his nose was a small pair of tinted glasses, almost identical to the one Ban was wearing. And the man's straight and fine hair, while unusually white, was tousled all around his proud head, the same way the retriever's messy hair fell over his head as he kept staring.

He pushed the photo back to his partner, and tossed his head. "That's probably just a big hoax, Ginji! Something to get us to accept."

"I don't think so, Ban-chan," Ginji looked at him with unusual seriousness, then lightened up. "What if this guy's your ancestor or something, and you actually have a big fortune?"

"Hmph," Ban replied. "Not happening." But he kept glancing back at the photo.

Hevn took it up, then looked back and forth from the picture to him. "We asked Paul to check all the photos and document copies. None have been digitally altered. This is the real deal, Ban." She elbowed himcandidly."This fellow is probably your great-great-grandfather."

"Think about it," Ginji prodded. "You don't know a whole lot about your family, right? A little research about your lookalike can't hurt, right, right?"

"I agree, Ban, think about it," Hevn added, still with teasing eyes. "It might help you get this case done faster."

"I'm telling you, there's no way!" he retorted. "First of all, the man is obviously Chinese!" He then stood up to get a fresh cup of coffee.

"He's Japanese, Ban-chan," Hevn quietly said.

He stopped walking to the counter, and looked at her.

"The newspaper clippings and semi-official documents from the time gave his Chinese name, but the client has come across police documents. His real name is Yukishiro Enishi."

He hmphed again, as he continued to the counter. "So? I am MIDOU Ban."

"But you got your surname after you were adopted, right?" Ginji asked.

"No, when I lived with the old lady I was already Midou Ban," he answered as he poured out his coffee. His eyes were somewhat distant from both Ginji and Hevn, as he thought about his answers.

"Maybe this Yukishiro guy only had a daughter, then the daughter got married, then had another daughter…….." Ginji chatted cheerfully, blissfully unaware of Ban's hand giving his coffee mug little tremors. "Then this daughter got married and had a son………."

"This Yukishiro Enishi disappeared from police records, that is why no one knows what happened to the Jade Dragon," Hevn answered. "That's what you guys are hired to find out. If this Japanese man in China got married, if he had children, and if he passed on the Jade Dragon to them. If he did, to whom did he pass it." She looked up at Ban, his fingers tremblingas he cocked his glasses. She changed her tone to apologetic. "That's your mission, Ban, that's all! We're probably just taking this to extremes. You're probably right, he's probably not related………"

Ban gritted his teeth, left his mug at the counter, and walked back to the table. He placed both hands on the table, and gave Hevn a piercing glare. "I'm not taking this case." He took out a pack of cigarettes and his lighter.

Ginji tugged at the end of his shirt. "But Ban, what if------"

"I don't want to know!" and with that, he marched out and slammed the door of the coffee shop behind him.

Hevn did not know what to make out of his outburst. They looked at him for a long while in silence, as he let out puff after puff, leaned on the window outside.

"Hevn," Ginji said quietly, "He'll get mad at me, but I still want to go on with this. I'm still one of the GetBackers, and I still accept this case."

Hevn was skeptical. "Why would you want to know about his past if he doesn't?"

Ginji gave her a happy, knowing grin. "Who says Ban doesn't want to know?"

…………………………………

Enishi Yukishiro is a character from Rurouni Kenshin (Samurai X). He was animated in the RK OAVs (Seisouhen, the second set), but for the most part he's a manga-only character. Ban is a perfect copy of that character, from hair to purple glasses to untouchable attitude. (I actually paid attention to GB first because of this.) Hence, the idea of this story. But since this is a story that will focus on the GB, it's placed here, without a copy at the RK section.

Sorry the initial chapter is short. It will get longer eventually. Thank you for reading, and I hope you come back for more chapters.


	2. Chapter 2: offer

Hello again. Thanks for coming back. I do have to say this early that I take a while to finish, because I get busy. But I do finish what I start. Expect new chapters (hopefully) every 2-4 weeks. On with the story.

………………………………

"How much time do we have to get back the Jade Dragon, Hevn?" Ginji asked, with a determined composure.

"Are you SURE you're taking this, Ginji? With Ban like that?" She pointed outside the little café. Ban was no longer at the window. He had walked off. "I don't like it that Ban is turning down 2 million. It's very unlike him." She placed an elbow on the table, and her hand under her chin. "Do you think we teased him too much?"

"Odd of him to be so touchy, though," Paul added, as he took up the picture. He, too, moved it forward and backward in front of his eyes. "Still, the resemblance is incredible. If I dress Ban up in Chinese clothes and make a sepia print, I'd probably be able to duplicate this."

"You're not answering my question, Hevn," Ginji reminded. "How long do we have to crack this case?"

"The client didn't say, actually," she answered. "But I tell clients for big operations that it could take three months at worst."

"Let it sit for a while, then, until the messy-haired ogre comes back with a calmer head," Paul suggested. He then called out for Natsumi to ready a small pizza.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea for now," Ginji nodded.

……………………………………….

What annoyed him was not so much that he could be the descendant of a yakuza or mafia or triad leader. It was not that. It was the simple fact that nobody had told him. It had to take at least twenty years for him to find out. His relatives could have dropped a line or a hint, and he could have done the rest. Now he did not even know for sure on which side of the family his doppelganger came from. He did not know if that man from a hundred years back had his same powers, or if he was the only one who had them.

His confused thoughts were disturbed when he saw an oddly familiar figure smile and bow to him, a few meters ahead of him. The man was short and wiry, dressed in an impeccable suit and tie. As he walked closer to the little man, he recalled that he was the same man in several of the photographs he had just seen.

"Chan Feilong," Ban correctly identified the man. "One of the Chans in the Hong Kong triads."

"Very good, Midou-han," the wiry man smirked. He motioned for him to follow to a deserted alley. "So you have been informed about it?"

"The White Tiger and the Jade Dragon? Yeah," Ban told him. "But I do want a guarantee that we will be paid the amount stated. A little jade shop doesn't have money like that. I want a guarantee that your Hong Kong branch will pay up."

The small man nodded, and took out a small box from a pocket. He gave it to the taller man. Ban opened it, and found a ring, thick and solid gold. He snapped it shut and returned it, unimpressed. He was better convinced by a small stack of bills, amounting to ten thousand dollars. This he folded and kept in his jeans pocket.

"We will not only pay, we will even give you a place among us, if you succeed," the man answered.

Ban took out a cigarette and puffed calmly as the man explained further.

"Many kinds of people have tried to find the statue over the last hundred years. Some wanted it for their collection. But most wanted to say that they had foiled the legendary White Tiger, and prove their place in the organization. All have failed. The legend has been passed on through the generations. The man in the triads who succeeds in finding it, will be one of its leaders."

"And you want to be that man," Ban concluded.

"No," Chan replied. "I want YOU to be that man."

Ban raised an eyebrow.

"The east branch of the main China triad has been disorganized for many years, ruled by men who abuse its history for their own gain. We need a leader that can unite them. The last one who did it was the White Tiger. Our spies and contacts have said that maybe you could be the next."

"I'm a freelancer," Ban explained. "I don't work well in organized groups. What do you want from me?"

"We have heard of your power to control people with your iron grip and your hypnotic spell."

Ban grumbled to himself. Those again.

"Use them for us. Strike fear where it is needed. You will get immeasurable wealth in return."

Ban puffed over the man's wispy hair. "Why do I feel that this Jade Dragon thing is just to get my attention?"

"Partly, yes, that is true," the man said with a slight bow. "Still, we do want you to find the Jade Dragon. That is how we will prove to the elders that you are indeed worthy. That is why the Jade Dragon must be found, Midou-han. The one who holds it will be recognized as one either directly descended from the legendary White Tiger, or one who has the same capabilities as he."

"White Tiger, White Tiger! You keep talking about this White Tiger, but you don't care to explain who he is!" Ban clenched his teeth, his right fist shaking beside him as he tried to stop himself from grabbing the man by the collar.

"The files we gave you have more than enough information on him, if you choose to read it carefully." Chan gave him a sly smile.

"But I already told that human power plant, we're not taking this case."

"You do not understand, Midou-han. Whether or not you take this case—and we still hope you do—this offer to join us in the triads stands," and he gave Ban a small card. "You don't have to tell this to your partner. This is between you and me. You only need to call me, and it will all be settled."

Ban looked at the man for a few seconds, then threw away his cigarette butt. He then stepped in front of the short man, firmly covered his eyes, and looked down at him with his full height. With his iron grip, he took Chan's left hand, and thrust the thousand dollar bills into it. "The answer is no."

The man was unfazed. He simply nodded. "I understand, Midou-han. You need time to think. I hope you would reconsider." He bowed respectfully, and started walking farther from Ban. "I wish for the continuing good health of Amano-han over the coming weeks."

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Ban yelled out to him.

"And good health to you as well, sir," the man bowed again, then finally left him.

Ban took out his cigarette pack. Finding it empty, he crumpled it with the strength of the Snake Bite, dropped it on the street and stepped on it with unusual vengeance.

………………………………………

When Ban returned after an hour with empty pockets and even emptier stomach, Ginji, Paul, and Hevn no longer brought up the new case. It is best to keep a bomb defused. Still, the three found it hard not to stare at Ban, and compare him with the picture they saw. The man in the daguerreotype had come to life, and now wore a loose white shirt and faded jeans. He sat on a bar stool, and greeted nobody. He kept staring at the row of bottles and coffee bean jars. When Paul slid a plate of new pizza to him, he silently took up a slice and began munching.

Ginji scooted closer to Hevn and placed a hand over her ear. "You know, Hevn," he whispered, "Ban really could've been a syndicate boss in another lifetime, don't you think? He has the connections, the smarts, the attitude……."

"Shut up, Ginji," Ban grumbled as he munched on his pizza. "I can hear you from here."

As Ginji meekly scooted back to his place, he noted a deep brooding seriousness in his friend's eyes. They were different from how they usually looked, calculating and decisive. Before he realized it, he was gazing into Ban's dark irises, and maintaining the gaze.

He saw Ban stand up, and declare for all of Honky Tonk to hear: "From this day forward, the GetBackers are dissolved."

"WHA?!" was all Ginji could say. "But what about our combined tab----"

He saw Ban point a gun straight at Paul's chest, then fire it. The man slunk to the floor almost immediately, behind the counter. "Anything else you wanted to know?" Ban asked him.

"Yes," Ginji stood up and spoke bravely. "Why?"

"Because it's either I kill you, or they will," Ban said, as he raised the gun again, and pointed it at Ginji's head. "If you don't mind, I'd rather have it that I kill you."

"Have you gone crazy, Ban-chan?!"

"Maybe," Ban answered. "It was nice knowing you." Then he fired.

Ginji saw the bullet head straight for his forehead, and hit him, before he could scream. As he dropped with a thud on the café's wooden floor, he barely saw his best friend's smug face, before everything turned dark.

The vision of breaking glass and the loud click of Ban's fingers knocked Ginji back to reality.

He rubbed his eyes in surprise. He had activated Ban's Evil Eye by mistake.

"Just ippon," Ban murmured and sighed, as he leveled his glasses well over his eyes. "Ginji, what business do you have staring at me for so long?"

"Oh, sorry," the blonde young man scratched his head. "I'm just, erm, worried about you?"

"Don't be," Ban curtly said.

……………………………………….

Ginji and Hevn let it rest for a few days, while the retrievers took in the smaller jobs. The cat in the tree, the misplaced important file that got thrown with the trash, and one of Shido's wayward animals.

"You'd think that zookeeper would have his pets always under control," Ban complained in the car on the way back from Madoka's mansion. "And if Shido were there, we would never have been paid!"

"At least it was a cat, not a tiger or a lion, or something BIG and ferocious," Ginji replied with glee, as he fumbled in a pocket for a small notebook. He hastily ran through a small list of pending jobs. "I think we're done for today, let's head back for dinner, OK, Ban-chan?"

He flipped over a page of the notebook. His eyes fell on the end of the list, where he noted the Jade Dragon case. Status: No progress. Ban kept his eyes on the road absentmindedly. It was not the best time to remind him, so he closed the notebook and put it back in his pocket.

He placed a hand over Ban's shoulder. "Hey, Ban-chan, you OK?"

"Don't bother me, I'm driving," his partner answered.

"Well, maybe it's nothing, but you seemed rather spacey over the past few days," Ginji explained. "What are you thinking about? Tell me, tell me!" he purred and rubbed his head against Ban's shirt sleeve.

"If you don't stop doing that, you pesky cat, I'm stopping the car and throwing you out!" Ban suddenly shouted, and pushed him away, making Ginji knock his head on the window. "Don't you be getting too close to me anymore, understand?" He then almost whispered. "You might pay for it with your life……."

"What did ya say, Ban-chan?" the blonde retriever asked as he rubbed his bumped forehead. "I have no money on me right now, so I can't pay for it, whatever it is."

Ban sighed as he turned to the street of their unofficial headquarters. "Never mind."

As soon as Ban parked their little car, Ginji got off with a hop and a skip, and entered the Honky Tonk. He flopped into one of the long seats, and opened a little tour guide book.

Ban meanwhile opened the car door with atypical deliberateness, then dragged his feet to the trunk and took out some soap. He spread out a garden hose hidden inside some of the café's large plant pots, and gave the little car a well-deserved washdown. Normally he let Ginji do this chore, after a little shouting and bargaining. Today he was in no mood for minor spats, and did it himself.

"Ban is too quiet," Paul noted from behind the counter, as he looked out his window. "What's wrong with him, Ginji?"

"Hm?" Ginji looked up for a moment from his book. "Oh, he's been like that all day. Just annoyed at Shido, I guess." He smiled and returned to reading.

Paul shrugged and set a kettle boiling.

Ban opened the café door as soon as the hot water was ready. He nodded his head at Paul, and shuffled nearer the tables in silence.

"Hey, Ban-chan!" Ginji greeted with a wave as his partner entered the café. "Did you know that Shanghai was an international port during the 1880's?"

"OK, nice to know," Ban smiled faintly, came to him and ruffled his hair. "But why are you reading about the 1880's?"

"It's research, Ban!" Ginji grinned as he closed his book.

"And since when did Amano Ginji do RESEARCH?" Ban chuckled.

Ginji looked up at him sheepishly. "It's for the Jade Dragon case."

Then he saw the chuckle and smile suddenly disappear, and the fire slowly blaze in his partner's eyes.

"I said, we're not taking the Jade Dragon case!" Ban shouted.

"Ban-chan, I have a right to say what cases we accept, too, you know!"

"It's my decision as much as yours! We're getting off this case!"

In the rising heat, which even Ginji found unusual, he who was most used to it, both blonde and dark-haired retriever forgot about Paul and the Honky Tonk. They continued shouting and screaming at each other as if for dear life. Neither one could be asked to calm down.

"But Ban, that's a million waiting to be had!" Ginji pleaded. "I know the case is tough, but we can do it! We can get back that Jade Dragon! You're the one who said that we should put personal feelings aside when we're dealing with a case, right?"

"But I told you, we won't take the Jade Dragon case, and that's final!"

"Why not?"

"It's preposterous, absurd, and……….and………."

"……….and might just be directly connected to you." Ginji quietly finished.

"That's none of your business!" Ban shouted.

Ginji maintained his soft, quiet voice. "I let you help on the case with MakubeX. I let you take on the case, even if I didn't want to at first. I'm your friend, as well as your partner. But you know more about me than I know about you. I want to help you know who your relatives were, whoever or whatever they were. Do you understand?"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Ban kept the high volume. "We know nothing about the client's backer! Who knows who we might step on in finding this, this, dragon thing……"

"It's not like you to back out of these big-organization deals!" his partner raised his voice again, beseeching. "You live for this kind of chase, and this is a big one! What in the world is stopping you?"

"I just don't want to--------" and he stopped in mid-sentence. He sought for the right words to explain, something even he did not fully understand. But one thing was certain…………whatever it was he felt about it, he did not want to involve his friend. And he was angry with himself that he could not tell him, that he could not involve him. "None of your business, Sparky!" he finally said.

"It is too my business! I'm your partner!"

"Then, fine! Take the case! Get yourself killed, see if I care!" Ban suddenly lowered his voice. "But I won't be your partner." He then turned his back on him, and placed his hands in his pockets.

Ginji heard him the first time, but he did not comprehend. "What……..did you say?"

"I know you're slow on the pickup, but I didn't know you were deaf, too," Ban murmured. He then shouted, "Find yourself another partner." He cocked his glasses, and walked away from his blonde friend. "Go on with the case. I don't care. But I won't be your partner."

"But Ban------" Ginji called out weakly.

"Good. Night. Ginji." He gently closed the door behind him.

Nothing more was said.

………………………………

Despite my frequent use, "White Tiger" is not an official title for Enishi. It's a title several RK fanfic writers have taken to using for him. It comes from a much respected fic, "White Tiger, Jade Concubine", an alternate pairing story, but one of the best renditions of Enishi. It also stems from a poster where a Chinese rendition of a tiger is placed behind him.

Sapphi-chan – Thanks much. I hope you like how I'm currently going. Send me your suggestions any time.

GeminiJackal – I'll try to be more consistent about the numbers next time, thanks. I double-checked that I wasn't going against the manga, and I hope I'm still in line. Do drop me a line just in case, though. Thanks a lot! Argh, the more I learn about the story, the more I want to get the manga for myself!

Rabid Lola – Thanks for liking the last line.

Yare-yare, I never imagined planning arguments and dialogue could be so HARD! Thanks for reading, and thanks for the suggestions. Please do give me more, so I can improve on this fic. See ya in a few weeks!


	3. Chapter 3: infiltration

Hello and thanks for coming. Sorry I took an insanely long while to update. I didn't know what to do next, quite frankly. It's the feeling of not being good enough to handle Ban-chan, and not giving Ban a case he would actually want to take. So I focused on an RK fic for a while. Now I'm getting clueless about a coming chapter for that RK fic I fixed this chapter first. Times like this, you have to force yourself to finish a chapter.

As for the brown-tinted and wide glasses a few lines down, I'm visualizing those things that are rather popular right now. It looks cool when the likes of Gackt wear it, but I doubt its effects on a certain guy we know who wears small purple specs…………

………………………………………

"I'm the new guy," he introduced himself to the guard at the door.

"Name?" the guard looked down at a list on a clipboard.

"Oh, don't bother looking there, I was just hired, so I'm not on the list yet," he smirked at him.

"Give your name then," the guard told him.

"Erm, let's see…………Kanzaki………..Kanzaki Hiroto."

"Alright. Go in."

"Thanks, pal," Midou Ban went in with a whistle.

Should anyone bother to check the records, they would indeed find a Kanzaki Hiroto, newly hired as a janitor for the building. If anyone should check the security cameras, they would find a young man with hair tied in a very short ponytail, covered by the uniform's cap. He was rather tall, on the slender side, but his arms were tightly bound by muscle. His eyes were covered by a pair of brown-tinted and wide glasses, rimless and running around the face.

"You look ridiculous," his manager had said of the spectacles.

"Keeps the glare out," he explained. "I hate bright lights." And the building, for a Chinese corporation based in Japan, had a lot of bright lights.

"So get another job."

"I need this one."

Indeed he did. The building was the front for Chan Feilong's branch of the Hong Kong triads.

He pushed out a large cart, filled with a mop, a bucket, two brooms, many rags and cleaning bottles. He wheedled for the job of cleaning floors and windows. It was the best way to get into rooms. And from many, many cases and hard times, he had learned how to mop and wipe windows fast and well.

Still, his blonde partner was infinitely better at sweet-talking and negotiating – the human, no-money aspect of negotiating. And Ginji made the boring work hours pass by much faster, with his silly conversation. He was slowly, surely, regretting that he did not take the annoying sparker along.

With no other case on hand, he did his job as calmly and properly as possible, and quietly scanned all the floors and all the rooms. In crucial areas, he left a small receiver at inconspicuous places.

He eventually found the room where most of the organizational files were kept.

He whistled as he approached the security camera, and placed a ladder under it. He made the motions of cleaning the window beside it, then quickly clipped in a small device over the camera. He took out what looked like a handheld game, and checked the visuals transmitted from the camera. Satisfied, he pocketed his handheld again, finished cleaning the window, and went down.

He went to where the computers were placed in the same room. He took out the handheld console again, and pressed a few buttons. That made the security camera repeat recorded clips from the last five minutes, as Ban connected a camera where a good view of the monitor displays could be had.

He cursed the loss of a partner again. He did not have to go through that much stealth if Ginji was around, short circuiting devices for him. But, he remembered, he had to keep Ginji out of Chan's reach. Ginji did not have to die, just so he himself could find out what was behind a dubious offer to replace a White Tiger.

He took out a small music player, and stuffed in the earphones. He started to fiddle around with the controls, until he got a good reception from the receiver at Chan's office. He whistled as he mopped the cafeteria floor.

……………………………………

The door chime rang as the coffee shop door closed , and a long-haired slender young man entered. He waved to Paul and Natsumi, and patted his friend, seated at a bar stool with a mug before him. He then sat a few stools away and ordered coffee and a sandwich. He turned and looked at his friend. He had not moved.

"What? No big hug?" He scratched his head. "Something the matter, Ginji-san?"

"He and Ban had a big fight," Paul explained. "He hasn't been here since."

"Oh." He smiled to him. "Don't worry about it. He'll be here when he gets hungry."

"It's not that, Kadzuki," Ginji murmured. "It's not that."

Kadzuki leaned on the counter and readied himself for a serious conversation.

Ginji spoke softly, with a faraway look. "Ban-chan knows something that he doesn't want to tell me, about this case we got. And he doesn't want to get me involved. It tells me that, that thing he knows? It's BIG. I think, he thinks I'm going to get killed or something. If the dream I got means anything."

"Dream?"

Ginji briefly explained the situation, and the one-minute hallucination he received.

"So, what do you plan to do?"

"That's the trouble," Ginji grinned sheepishly. "I don't know." He sat up straight and puffed up his chest. "That's what I wanna find out." Then he slunk down, spread his arms over the counter, and sulked. "But I don't know how."

Kadzuki chuckled, and moved his coffee and sandwich closer to his friend. "And this used to be the Raitei, oh, dear…..," he teased. "You're hopeless without that hothead, aren't you?"

Ginji assumed his puppy-dog eyes and pout, and nodded.

"Tell you what, I'm not particularly busy right now, so why don't I help you find out what's bothering Ban, okay?"

"You will?" It was then that Ginji gave the expected big hug. "Thank you, thank you!"

Then an uneasy silence as Kadzuki squirmed free.

"So, now what?" Ginji asked with all-trusting eyes.

"Hmmmmm…………" the long-haired friend rubbed his chin, and looked around. His eyes fell on the man behind the counter, reading the newspaper. "Let's start with Paul tonight, then maybe we can talk to Hevn tomorrow."

"Wow, I never thought of that!" Ginji patted his friend on the shoulder.

"Oh, yes, and Natsumi, could you be sweet enough to keep a potful of coffee for us tonight? Before you go?" Kadzuki added.

"Sure thing," she said, and went to the kitchen.

Paul was listening to them, and had been eagerly waiting for the chance. He folded the newspaper and left it on the counter. He dove into the counter, and took out his laptop computer. "Keywords, please?" he nudged up his glasses and grinned.

" 'Midou Ban'?" Ginji hazarded. "Well, maybe somebody has been tracking him, and keeping records online?"

Paul agreed, and typed up his partner's name. He lined up a typical web search, and a deeper, hacker level search, simultaneously. Nothing substantial resulted from the web search, aside from weblog entries and news articles from happy customers of the GetBackers. But the deeper search was yielding results that were…………interesting.

"Now, THAT's the Ginji I know," Kadzuki smiled.

"Hey, Paul, can I go down to the basement? I'd like to check out those addresses that keep coming up," Ginji asked.

"Second shelf, that's what you want," Paul nodded.

The former Raitei re-appeared after half an hour, carrying phone books and hard copies of old files. He began to carefully browse through them, asking Paul or Kadzuki every ten minutes or so about a possible clue. The other two men combed through the databases and online data.

It was an hour past midnight when Paul closed the Honky Tonk. The three men had worked long and hard, and they had managed to get some new information, useful to helping Ban, without getting in his way. Ginji had asked permission to doze off for a few minutes at around 11pm, and lay down on a long seat. Kadzuki and Paul kept working at it until half past midnight, and let him sleep. "It's better that way," Paul told the young man with him. "He tossed and turned all of last night; he sparked the lock and went for a walk before the sun was up." Kadzuki thanked Paul for the assistance, and promised to return in the morning.

Paul was about to turn off the lights, when someone knocked behind the locked door. A weary young man with spiked hair and dark glasses. Paul opened the door for him, then walked behind the counter.

Ban nodded slightly to Paul before sitting at a bar stool. He kept silence, and looked at his friend, asleep in a disturbed way, huddled in one of the long seats. Paul gave him a hot cup of coffee in his white scribbled mug. Along with it, he gave a diskette, which Ban pocketed without question.

"He's asked Kadzuki's help," Paul told Ban. "He's been miserable, not knowing what to do, if anything."

"Worrywart, as always," he harrumphed, and sipped his coffee.

"Does he have anything to worry about, Ban?" Paul asked quietly.

Ban muttered, more to himself. "The problem is mine. I don't want him to get involved in something he shouldn't, just because he's my friend………." Then he stopped. "He'll understand someday."

He walked over to his friend, and deftly clipped a small object just inside his shirt. He then stood, gazed at him, and shook his head. He waved to Paul as he walked out, and opened the café door. "Thanks for the coffee. Take care of that dunderhead while I'm gone. Don't let him go anywhere alone."

"When will we hear from you again?" Paul asked.

"You will." And he closed the door with a click.

………………………………….

It was fortunate that Ginji had chosen to sleep at the table nearest the counter. He was still asleep at half-past 8. A few early customers already came and went. Paul had to cover up the blonde young man in a blanket and keep him from scrutiny.

"What are you hiding there, sir?" Natsumi asked as she came in and saw the mound under a blanket.

"I'm hiding a body," Paul answered with teasing eyes.

"Oh!" the girl fell for it, and sped off to the kitchen in a fright. Paul laughed long and hard.

At 9 am the bell clinked, and Kadzuki entered with a yawn. He too noticed the mound. "Very sound sleeper," he noted.

"Not exactly," Paul said. "Still tossing and turning, poor boy."

Natsumi waved at the newcomer but refused to budge from the kitchen door. "The……..the…………..body………sir……….it's……it's………moving!" She pointed with s shaking right hand.

"Well, it better be moving! I'd be more afraid if it wasn't!" Paul chuckled and unfolded his newspaper. "Get a cup of coffee, and eggs and toast, Natsumi."

"But, sir…….."

"Add it to their tab," he said.

Meanwhile, the string master walked to the table, and pulled off the blanket. He bent over and shouted. "WAKE UP, GINJI! You good-for-nothing spark plug!"

"I'm up, Ban-chan, I'm up!" Ginji groaned………and went back to sleep.

"Well, sounding like Ban didn't work, maybe sounding like Dr. Jackal would?" Kadzuki knit his brows. "Except that I don't know how to do a good impression………….."

"The eggs and toast are ready, sir!" Natsumi called out from the kitchen, as the smell of fresh toast and new coffee wafted out to the dining area.

"Eggs and toast!" That finally got Ginji to sit up and ruffle his hair.

"Yare-yare," Kadzuki shook his head and grinned.

Then Ginji took a good look around, saw the bright sunny day and the café clock strike the half hour past 9. "9:30? That late? OH, man…………" He still had heavy rings around his eyes, and a sad, sleepy face. It was still rather obvious that he had a rough night. He saw his friend and gave him a sad little smile. "Why didn't you wake me up, Kadzuki?" he asked with a yawn.

"You helped a lot already last night, don't worry about it," the string master said.

"Are you sure?" he asked again and smoothed down his shirt and vest – noting that something felt odd about his shirt.

"Ban can take care of himself, Ginji, you know that," his friend replied and sipped his coffee.

Ginji scratched his back for a few moments, and pulled at his shirt. He finally fished out a small, round receiver. He showed it to Kadzuki, and sighed deeply.

He then spoke into the receiver with artificial cheerfulness, "Hey, Ban-chan. I hope you're doing fine. I'm still OK, don't worry about me. But I'd like it better if you talk to me face-to-face and find that out yourself." He sent a little charge out through his index finger, and short-circuited the device.

Kadzuki grinned and waved a finger at him. "That wasn't nice, Ginji-san."

"I know," Ginji smiled back.

At the other end of the receiver, Ban growled as his earphones crackled loudly then grew silent. "Damn that idiot! That was the only way I could think of! I'll get his hide!" He punched the nearest wall, and made a dent, filling the hallway with dust.

Unfortunately, a man with a prim cap and uniform peered at him from the end of the hall. "That comes out of your paycheck, new guy!"

"Damn Ginji………" he fumed, as he swept the cement and paint on the floor.

………………………

anonymous reviewer – Making conflict was easy! No way! I never realized how much thinking I had to do when I started this story. Writing for RK comes more naturally to me than writing for GB! Hence, the LONG delay.

I still need suggestions, lots of it. Thanks for reading, I'm really sorry for the delay, and I hope you come back!


	4. Chapter 4: cornered

Hello again! Sorry I took such a long time. Exams, RK fic chapters, book reading, Samurai 7. I finally have a story in my head that could actually work, and I really hope it does. Thanks for thinking that it's really good. (Seriously, if THIS is good, how are the others?) Now, I'm really scared of what I might do very wrong.

I still welcome your comments and suggestions, since GB is not exactly my field of expertise. I admit that I too only know GB from anime, although I've tried to read up (still not done, though) at the Honky Tonk café, TakadaInmate's site and LJ, and that other place the getbackers LJ community suggested. There's plenty I'm bound not to know or get wrong. For this reason, don't expect a full cast to appear here. Fewer people, fewer mistakes.

On to the story.

……………………………………

"Are you sure about this, Ginji-san?" Kadzuki asked.

"Pretty sure," the chipper blonde young man said. "You saw it yourself, right? Many of the ISP's led to this place." His hands swept up to the large and tall building in front of them, for a multinational corporation.

"Um, Ginji-san, haven't you heard of re-router programs?"

Ginji tilted his head and grinned. "What are those?"

"I thought so," Kadzuki sighed and shook his head. "There are these hacker programs that give out tags and ISP addresses for another computer, at another place, not the one the hacker actually used to do the hacking. That confuses any tracking computers and programs. Sakura and MakubeX use it all the time. Therefore, it is likely that we have been led to this place by many re-route tags."

"But what if they're real?" Ginji asked. "No clues are bad clues, right? Let's take a chance!"

Ginji pushed on the large revolving doors, but Kadzuki held him back.

"But why not the back door?"

"I learned this from Ban-chan," he said. "Sometimes it's better if you enter the front door when they expect you to enter the back door."

"But this is too obvious, Ginji-san!" Then he moved back and bowed slightly. "Sorry for the outburst."

Ginji scratched his head. "Oh, really sorry, Kadzuki-chan. I think you're right. Should we go use the back door now?"

"No, Ginji-san," the string master replied and pushed themselves through the revolving doors. "The cameras already got a glimpse of us. Let's just make the best out of a bad situation, stick together, and find out what we can." He went to the reception desk, and got visitor cards for the both of them.

They began to walk in, and up the stairs. "Ban would probably have accessed the information files already, so let's see what we can find out from the other paper in this place. If your Ban-chan were so important, not everything about him would be shredded paper. Then, I guess we can take a look at how the people mingle about here. That's how your friend would do things, right?"

Ginji nodded. "Hey, Kadzuki-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks a lot. For helping me about Ban-chan and all."

"The friend of the Raitei is, at the least, also my ally," Kadzuki smiled back at him.

They ran up to the second floor, and watched the movement there for a few minutes. Nothing substantial. The third floor. Cafeteria and little stores. They stayed for a while, but nothing seemed out of place. Finally, at the fifth floor, they found desks, cubicles, and offices. But nothing much, even through tapping the phone lines.

"Let's try the security department," Ginji said. "Even if Ban-chan had already been there."

His friend agreed, and went to the elevator with him. He glanced at a floor directory beside it. "Eighth floor. Let's go."

But Kadzuki was right. They were too obvious.

…………………………

Ban knew he was being tracked. There had been several attempts to hack into the Honky Tonk's computer over the last few weeks, and many records of sightings all around Shinjuku. Those were some of the contents of the diskette Paul gave him, the results of their web searching. It also told him that despite his efforts, Ginji was still on the case. Still, the diskette listed many places the sparker and the string master could look into without getting in trouble. He just hoped that was where they went.

He had contacted Hevn. Nothing new about the Jade Dragon. The only way to learn anything more was to learn it from Chan Feilong.

He stayed on past office hours, and slipped back into the information center of the building. Once again, he set the reception of his music player to the big offices on the top floor. He set his player on "record", planning to decipher all the Chinese back at Paul's computer once he had the chance to go there. Once again, he disabled the security camera for the room. With Chinese filling his ears, he sat down to a computer and began.

File search: White Tiger.

It yielded common, useless information about Siberian tigers. He had to try something else.

File search: Yukishiro Enishi.

Out came the picture that Hevn showed them, a proud, young, white-haired man immortalized in sepia print. Something about metalworks, but nothing that Hevn had not already told them. One more try.

File search: Midou Ban.

It let out an incredibly long file, longer than even he expected to get. More frightening, the files of sightings of him were more complete here than the file Paul gave him. It went as far back as the case for Madoka's violin.

Then, at the end, was a link.

He clicked on this and got a comprehensive file on the original White Tiger, written mostly in Chinese. He wired up his music player to the computer, and uploaded a translation program. From as many of the century-old files as could be found and saved, were pages and pages of data on his investments and plans.

He learned that the doppelganger was an ambitious, intelligent young man. He started in the organization as a teenager, from a hard life of fighting for food. He rose in the ranks faster than any before or after him, an achievement more because he was a foreigner among a tough class of Chinese people. He did not hesitate to kill if it needed to be done, and he did not hesitate to step on people if necessary. Yet, he was also reputed to have a way with words, getting people to join his side and getting his way – without their realizing it. A combination of force and good will had made him a respected and feared top ranker in the organization, second only to the ultimate heads, with a name known in all of the China underworld of his time.

Chan was right about that point. He had a lot in common, personality-wise, with this white-haired man from a century ago.

If forced, then yeah, maybe he could play along and be that White Tiger for a while.

One thing struck him as odd, though. There had been no recorded eyewitness account of the Jagan being used by this uncanny lookalike. Neither was anything like the Snake Bite recorded. It was only noted that Yukishiro had been a skilled swordsman in his day, using a combination of Chinese and Japanese sword techniques. Maybe the sword had magic to it? He guessed. But there was nothing to files to confirm that.

So, if this man was his ancestor, how was he an ancestor? Where did he get his special skills?

His thoughts were interrupted by a voice coming clearly through his earphones. He stopped typing.

"Kanzaki Hiroto?"

He did not reply.

"Or rather, Midou Ban?"

He still did not reply. But he clenched a fist.

"How did you like our profiling of you? We made it as complete as we could."

He did not answer. He smirked to himself. The day your files has Maria Noches in it, is when I believe you.

"But as you saw, you are an ideal candidate. You are, most likely, the new White Tiger. And that is quite an honor we bestow on you. We promise to give you the breadth and depth of the organization. You can do anything you like, and we will obey."

He had been told that a few other times by other organizations. What none of them understood was that he wanted to act on his own, on his own terms, never on the terms of others. He drew out a microphone from inside the music player. "I already told you, I'm not interested."

"So why are you here?"

He answered with ice in his voice. "The GetBackers took on the job to retrieve the Jade Dragon. The GetBackers do not stop until the job is done."

"I thought you were not interested in that as well."

"You forced me to be interested."

"Oh, yes, that's right. Because you wanted to protect Amano-han. My friend, you definitely underestimate the power of this organization that we are giving you! Amano-han, is a drop in the water!"

What was the man driving at?

"Look through the window, Midou-han."

He was skeptical, but looked down through the window nearest him. And saw Ginji and Kadzuki walking through a long, deserted hall, several floors below him. He growled. Stupid meddling fools!

"Ah, yes. Amano-han. He could never bear the thought of being away from you for a long time. Such love. You make such a good couple…"

Ban could feel Ginji-like sparks forming from his palms, in supreme irritation. He was not a man much inclined to murder, but he seriously contemplated on killing the man once he got the chance.

But he saw a man move in, with a long-range rifle pointed at the two. And another. And another.

"So, Midou-han? What will it be?"

One locked and loaded. He heard it through the earphones. Through the lens he saw other people with guns maneuver closer to Kadzuki and Ginji. Soon, those guns were also locked and loaded, and aimed at the two below.

"Too many people to use the Jagan on, and you can't use it on me," the voice reminded him. "And no one near enough for the Snake Bite. You're too far away to shout to them. No way to help them, Midou-han. Unless you agree to join us."

Ban gritted his teeth. Cornered. But he was not going without a fight. "Sure, give them a shot. I don't care." He spoke with as much nonchalance as he could muster.

A shot was fired. It grazed Kadzuki's shoulder. It placed the two on heightened alert, backs to each other. The two looked overhead, and fired out sparks and threads between them. Kadzuki's threads began to knot and twirl in all the wrong ways. Another shot came before either could avoid it, and hit Ginji's leg. Ginji began misfiring.

Simple gun shots should not let two Volts leaders make such critical errors.

"WHAT did you do?" Ban demanded, as he looked on with horror. Ban thought he saw his partner mouth a few terrible syllables. They were confirmed, as Ginji began to sweat and spark weakly, and his friend held his neck. "POISONED! You're crazy, Chan!"

"The next one will hit his heart, Midou-han," the other end calmly said. "You're the one who told me to shoot at them."

Ban pulled at his hair.

"There IS an antidote to it. I will let you give it to them. As the White Tiger."

It might be another poison, but Ginji and Kadzuki were fading fast before his eyes. For now he had to believe Chan, or both meddlers would be dead in a few minutes. Besides, if Chan wanted him so badly, he would not do anything to make him attack needlessly.

He had no choice.

"Fine, fine," he growled. "I'm in. I'm in. Keep your promise."

"Do you think I'm a liar, Midou-han?" the voice crackled from the earphones.

"Give me reason to believe otherwise, Chan," he grumbled back.

Both Ginji and Kadzuki were now on the ground, unconscious.

"Your orders, then, Midou-han?"

He was still shaking, holding the microphone. "Give them the antidote. NOW. No tricks, or I WILL get to you. Then, throw them out of town. Do NOT kill them. Code name: White Tiger. Those are my first orders."

Ban saw a man appear from behind a secret door, and inject something into his friends. He heard a steady clap, clap, clap, clap through the speaker, as he saw the blond-haired and long-haired young men dragged away.

"The White Tiger has returned."

……………………………

I would place this story a little before the manga-only material. So, let us say that this is one of your slightly unusual non-Mugenjou cases. Have mercy, even I just found out about Der Kaiser! I still don't know squat about that Amon guy! If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to shinyakabeko. tripod. com like me and get yourself a most necessary update from TakadaInmate. The PREVIOUS GetBackers have already been introduced! And you won't believe who they are!

I knew I was crazy to start this, but now I realize I'm in too deep. Nonetheless, I will finish this story, the best I can. I apologize but I will not make Himiko appear here; I'm afraid of what I might do very wrong with her. I have even junked plans to bring in Dr. Jackal. Similarly, majority of the Mugenjou people won't make an appearance either. I do realize that tackling Mugenjou people with only anime knowledge is asking for trouble. I will always gladly accept suggestions, comments, and manga clarifications.

**Atropos Knife** -- I owe you a lot. Your suggestions and information were very very helpful. By the way, that bit about Ban's parents (I've read up since then) did help a lot in something that bothered me. Now it's settled, I finally have a story I can be happy with. I'm also glad that you knew about Enishi. Coming from the RK section and writing about Enishi, I DO know a lot about having to be careful and staying true to the manga. That's part of the reason why I didn't update for a long time after chapter 2 – I didn't know if I could do it. But thanks for your support and I hope you keep liking this little piece.

**Jordiscy the Wood Elf** – Thanks for the show of support. I hope I live up to expectations, but I really accept suggestions.

**Anonymous95321** – Sorry about Kadzuki, I'll try to do better. Thanks for liking the plotting, although I think you're giving me too much credit!

**Marbles** – Kabayan! Of the 3 versions I've heard I still like Ban best in Japanese. It's crazy that I can identify the Ban voice in Animax dubs. You can tell your friends that I am fully convinced there would be no Ban if there were no Enishi. The way Ban's back story was developed parallels some of Enishi's back story as well. Because only hardcore RK nuts know about Enishi, not many people realize that Ban is just a very good clone. Thanks for reading my other stuff, and for liking White and Black!

**Unseen watcher **– Thanks for reading! It'll take a while before that happens.


	5. Chapter 5: suite

Ayaya, now is NOT the best time to be a GB fanfic writer. SO MANY MANY things are getting revealed, and many are far from what the fandom initially thought. You can no longer assume on BOTH the past and the future of any of these guys. Many fics (and already, many of the anime fillers!) are being negated with each new chapter from those two crazies, junkies, geniuses……..that are the GB writer and illustrator. Don't worry, now that I know what I should not be doing, this story will not go against what information A&A are releasing.

Thanks much for reading something that's starting to scare the writer in me with each new chapter I make. I got a weird idea while on vacation. The stuff a nice hotel can inspire. 8 ) I hope you like it, and I hope I did right. Relatively short wait for a chapter, for once.

Disclaimer: Don't own Ban and Ginji (sigh.) But can I please keep Paul-sama? Please? He'll always be Paul-sama to me now!

…………………………………

The bell at the door of the coffee shop clinked. Natsumi looked up from the dishes she was washing. She saw two men enter the Honky Tonk. Both had grass in their hair and tears in their clothes. The thinner, long-haired one held up the blonde one, who had an arm over his shoulder. He dragged his left leg with difficulty. His eyelids kept opening and closing. The long-haired man panted under the weight he carried.

It was already almost midnight. Paul had told Natsumi to go home earlier, but she said she wanted to wait for Ginji to come back before doing so. She was worried. He let her wait, while she finished the chores.

"Where have you guys been?" Natsumi asked with much concern. "You look terrible!"

"We ran into some trouble, that's all, Natsumi-chan," Ginji said faintly, and pointed Kadzuki to the table nearest the bar. He lowered the blond young man onto the seat. Ginji almost immediately flopped his arms and head over the table, and fell into heavy sleep. Kadzuki looked around the table and the bar. Natsumi eventually gave him the blanket Ginji used last night. The long-haired young man said his thanks, and covered the former Raitei with the blanket.

"The drug hasn't completely worn off yet," Kadzuki shook his head. The manager offered a cup of coffee to him, but he waved it away, as his eyes began to droop.

"Alright, Kadzuki, talk to me," Paul placed crossed his arms and prepared to listen. "What happened?"

"I am not sure, really," he said. "We were caught while infiltrating Chan's organization's building. We were shot at – or, strictly speaking, we were tranquilized. He got it worse than I did. Then I think they gave us a stronger tranquilizer soon after we were down. I woke up at the highway, with Ginji-san beside me."

"You WALKED back here?"

"Oh, no, no," Kadzuki smiled. "I called a Transporter for some help. She came with a van, and she dropped us off at the corner, before she went to another job. I paid her, of course. I think she's also wondering why the GB has no B, but did not ask questions. I can only hope no other creepier people have noticed as well."

"But did you find out anything? Did you find him?"

"This is the weird thing. I think I heard something from a walkie-talkie before I passed out completely. It sounded like Ban. Giving orders!"

The manager did not answer. He rubbed his chin and cocked up his glasses, then sighed at the blond young man asleep at the table.

The phone rang, and Natsumi answered it. "Honky Tonk, may we help you?" She listened for a while, then called out to Paul.

He came to the phone. "This is the manager, yes, what is it?………..Yes…………Also here…………Yes." And he ended the call.

"Who was that, Boss?" Natsumi asked after Paul lowered the receiver.

He answered, and looked at Ginji and Kadzuki. "Someone checking if the goods are alright."

"We'll be fine. Thanks, Paul, and we're really sorry for bothering you," Kadzuki said, as he too dropped down onto the table.

"He knows what he's doing," the manager told him quietly, then looked out the window. "I think."

……………………………………

The door to the information room opened, and revealed a few armed men. He kept his devices, and raised his hands over his head.

"Oh, that will not be necessary, Midou-han," a voice came from a walkie-talkie held by one of the men who entered.

"Where are you taking those two?" he growled into the receiver.

"As you ordered, White Tiger. Just out of town. Rest assured they will be treated, well, gently."

He readied to chant for Asclepius.

"Very irritable, White Tiger, sir. Maybe some dinner will improve your mood?" the voice crackled again. "Boys, you know where to take him, right? Also, Midou-han, we would appreciate if you wear these," and a man tossed him a crisp white shirt, dark pants, and a suit. "It should improve your profile."

Ban was held at each arm by a burly man, and escorted into a dark car. There he slipped on the new clothes, after sniffing to make sure they were not taken from a previously living person.

He was brought to the best hotel in Shinjuku, and led into its restaurant.

"And how is the meal going to be paid?" he asked with a smirk.

"The organization will take care of that," the escorts said. They stood dutifully behind him, as entrees, appetizers, main course, and dessert were served in close succession. Sometime during the evening, he no longer cared about the escorts. He had never eaten such an incredible meal in his life. His initial fear of tainted food was replaced with relish. He had eaten sandwiches and pizza for too long.

After dinner he was led to the elevator, and brought to the top floor, into a large suite. The bedroom was distinct from the living room, and distinct from the kitchen. The floor was richly carpeted, and the trimmings were grand. A very classy apartment, rather than a hotel room.

"Don't hesitate to call us for anything, sir," one of the men said, and closed the main door of the suite behind him.

Almost midnight. The suite was nice, but there was only one thing he wanted to know. He ran to the telephone, and dialed. A few rings later, his call was answered.

"Honky Tonk, may we help you?" came a chirpy female voice at the other end.

He coughed and tried to muffle and deepen his voice. "May I speak to the manager please?"

"Just a minute……" a few seconds ……

"This is the manager, yes, what is it?"

He started to whisper into the receiver. "Is he there?"

"Yes."

"The spool?"

"Also here."

"Both okay?"

"Yes."

"Thanks." He put down the phone. And sighed with much relief. The spark and the spool were alive and alright. He would get details from Ginji later after the job was done.

Now, to check on the suite.

He checked the large suite for cameras and microphones. He did find a few, and disconnected them as well as he could. For the rest that he could not find, he would let them be. So Chan would not think too badly of him. OH, for the want of a sparker to get even some static running through a room, to disable all recorders. All the money in the country, for a sparker.

He now checked the rooms for their aesthetic and economic value.

Only a few words can be said about the entire suite. Very artistic. Very stylish. VERY expensive. From the marble bath to the gold-rimmed bedposts, everything exuded class and opulence. He did not want to know how they got the money to maintain such a suite.

In the middle of the living room, on top of a marble table, was a beautiful statue, of entirely green, shimmering stone. A handsome dragon stood ready for anything, both to kill and to protect. He had seen it before, but not this close. He never believed he would see it that close to him, with the dragon almost about to breathe fire onto his cheek. An incredible piece of sculpture, maintained with the highest care.

The Jade Dragon!

He then slapped his head. That can't be. It was just another replica, like many others. He laughed. That was too easy, if it was the real thing, way too easy! Maybe he could just tell Chan that was THE Jade Dragon he was after, get the money, end the job, and return to the Honky Tonk and Paul's coffee.

Nonetheless, he poked at the replica in his room, checking for other details he had overlooked earlier. He even lifted the statue with some heaving. It was heavy. He grumbled afterward. Nothing under the base. No hidden wires, batteries, recorders, or cameras. It was clean. An ordinary green statue.

It was a bit unusual, though. This replica of the Jade Dragon had small Chinese characters written at its base. He fished out his translator device, and eventually made out what it said.

_The eyes of the tiger are drawn to the heart of the dragon. _

He had seen the replica at the museum, said to be the closest, and that one did not have the inscription at the bottom. Since that time other Jade Dragon replicas, larger and smaller, had emerged. So he did not make much of this. Chan probably had this replica made for himself. Maybe Chan had the inscription written in, as a reminder to keep finding the elusive ancestor.

Then he saw it. More characters, on the base, at the side opposite the first inscription. He tried the translator, but got nothing. Finally he noticed. Hiragana. So the rest was kanji.

_Death to the red dragon. _

Red dragon? But the statue was green! What did the stuff about a red dragon mean? Obviously Chan did not know, otherwise a red dragon would have been mentioned either by him or by the files that he read through. So, if Chan did not know what the red dragon was, why would he make an inscription about it? Maybe he got it from a previous boss who knew what the characters meant. Oh, well.

Ban decided to check on the red dragon in the morning. Right now, he readied his purple glasses, and made for the door. He thought about doing some exploring while he was there.

But the door was locked.

"Sorry, sir. Orders from the boss," someone outside said. "You shouldn't be let out tonight."

"I thought I would be allowed to do what I want," he asked from inside.

"It's just for your safety, sir. We don't want you killed."

They also did not want him to escape. All the windows had at least one man guarding it, or a sniper looking at it from some distance.

He sighed. He would make the most out of a bad situation. He pulled out the blanket, and slipped into bed. With Ginji and Kadzuki safely at the Honky Tonk, he could more or less get some shuteye in peace.

He was allowed to sleep at leisure. Being used to night work, he got up almost at noon, and still found a hearty breakfast ready and waiting. He did not know how it was managed, but a suit was laid out on the sofa, and a soft bathrobe and towel were ready at the bathroom. He was sure that no one entered the suite without his knowledge. But then again, maybe he had underestimated how tired he was. He still felt rather groggy. It was not supposed to be that way.

If what was done to the sparker was also done to him………at least he knew he was not subjected to a slow death, or his brain altered in some way.

He felt through the suit, simple and dark, but classy. No hidden microphones or gadgets. This was not like Jackie Chan's tuxedo from that crazy movie. When he tried it on, he could not help but smooth down his messy hair to match it. But something about his hair being ironed down did not seem right, and he ruffled it again. And cocked up his purple glasses.

Even he was surprised at himself. He looked exactly like the man in the sepia print. The original White Tiger.

He did not know if he was supposed to be alarmed or pleased.

He heard a knock through the door. "Are you ready, sir?"

"Call me Ban, for goodness' sakes," he called out. "What am I supposed to be ready for?"

"The boss says you have to be introduced to the heads of the subgroups."

"I suppose," he answered, as he packed translator, media player, and handheld into pockets, gave his hair a final ruffle, and opened the door. "Will Chan be with us?"

"No, he will meet us," came the answer of a guard, who bowed to him. "Follow me, sir."

He swore under his breath. No chance to kill the man in a car, then.

He was led to the main hall and front steps, where a black limousine waited for them. He settled himself comfortably at the back seat, as the man who escorted him sat with the driver. It was nice, he had to admit. He almost expected his blonde thunderstorm of a friend to move from window to window, tugging at him to check out the black leather on the seats, the soda cans in the little refrigerator, and the wine glasses to the side. He felt the same way, even if he did not show it. This was classy living! Sweet!

The limo passed the main streets, including the street where the Honky Tonk was. He saw their Beetle parked near the door, gathering dust. He also saw his blonde partner trying to clean the café's street windows. Thank goodness he was perfectly alright.

He did not know why, or what, made the spark plug turn his head. But Ginji saw the car. Ginji saw the people inside the car. Ginji dropped the rag. He kept staring at Ban in the car, even as it passed the little coffee shop.

But he could not, should not be seen having associations with him. If he wanted to keep him alive. If he wanted to stay alive in the organization.

He tossed his head, and looked away. Then he clenched his teeth.

_The eyes of the tiger are drawn to the heart of the dragon._

It was a bad analogy. He was a growly, grumbly tiger, with a fate drawn and knit with an annoying fire-breathing—erm, electricity-firing—dragon with a magnanimous heart. He hated having to do it to Ginji. He kept convincing himself that it did not matter, that he did not care about Ginji, that he was better off this way. With power and money at beck and call.

It was not working.

He was learning bitterly. The White Tiger had no real friends.

……………………………

I can't believe this chapter. I can't believe how long I tried to stay in Ban-chan's head! Am I dead sure I know the sea urchin well enough to do this? If you have mafia-type info, bring it on when you review, okay? My knowledge is limited to some TV and the Organo in Texhnolyze.

I'm now up to speed and current to the GB manga, thanks to TakadaInmate's LJ summaries. I am a Paul fan for life! So cool, so cool! I bow before you, Paul-sama! I'm trying to keep cool, trying to keep my excitement under control and keep Paul behind a counter in this fic. I can't watch the GB anime anymore and not think about it! To keep my sanity I tell any GB anime fan friend that I know about Paul-sama (just that raw fact, sparing them the headache that is the Voodoo Children and Lost Time arcs – I understood it, but I don't get it). They all agree with me that it's so cool. Next project: try to get better acquainted with that Amon person, that Specialist woman, Maria Noches…..I still can't place who Maiya is! I am glad I got reading for the manga-only content of GB at the time major developments are being given. It's a great time to be a GB fan. It's an annoying time to be GB fanfic writer!

By the way, this story will not be a very long one, just in case you're expecting it to be.

**Atropos Knife** – I didn't realize you're one of the more respected people in the GB section, am honored by your presence and comments. Thanks for thinking I'm doing the right thing. Chan is nefarious? Erm, thank you? I'm glad Kadzuki is back in line. I'm ekmisao at LJ, do find me and friend me, okay?

**Crimson Vixen** – Thanks so much. Am scared now.

**The Sinner of Anger** – Thanks a lot. Hope to see you again!

**Yami Neko Tenshi** – The sword technique profile is in the Jinchuu arc manga for Enishi. He's an awesome guy, really.


	6. Chapter 6: warehouse

Ban-chan is one tough character to write for, but Ginji is even harder to place. You know he's instinctively smart, but not systematically smart, and that's hard to write, because you want him neither too smart nor too silly. That's why, if you notice, you get to read Ban's thoughts but only read Ginji's actions in this story. That's also why The Prize, with all its Ginji-ness, is incredible to me.

Sorry for the long delay. Culprits: Samurai 7, Saiyuki Reload, wardwork (medical records writing), first week of school.

A resident of the RK section is back with another chapter of a GB fic, still scaring herself with each new chapter. Thanks for reading.

……………………………

Two days passed.

Breakfast came to him, ready at the dining table. A freshly pressed suit awaited him in a walk-in closet. And the suite had been cleaned by the time he woke up.

He got hold of the cleaning lady, and made her talk. "The truth. Am I being drugged? How come I never feel you people coming and going?"

The lady vehemently refused, a little scared but brave. "Scout's honor. But judging from the bedsheets, sir, you keep tossing and turning at night, then you finally fall asleep at dawn. So when we come around at 7 or 8, you're too fast asleep to notice us."

Tossing and turning? He did not even realize he was tossing and turning at all! All he knew was that his mind kept building scenario after scenario. Ginji would get another partner. Ginji would revert back to Raitei. Ginji would be shot. Ginji would be involved in an orchestrated accident. Situations presented themselves in close succession. Finally, out of exhaustion, his mind went blank. He would only be relieved of the blankness by the smell of dark coffee.

He had another question for the cleaning lady. "That green statue, the centerpiece. How long has it been here?"

"Around five years," the lady said. "The original owner run out of money, and sold it directly to this hotel."

"What about the characters at the base?"

"Came with the statue."

He sighed. Dead end clue.

During waking hours, he tried to keep thoughts of his electric friend at bay, by checking the organization's headquarters more carefully. Now that he was one of the subleaders, he was given full access to all floors and all files. He did check on files for Amano Ginji, and fortunately found next to nothing. Only that he was Ban's partner, and was often seen at a small café.

He did call the Honky Tonk again. To order pizza – knowing full well that the Honky Tonk did not deliver. He would then act like an irritated customer and demand that they deliver, giving Natsumi his current address. At the same time, he listened to the receiver for his friend's chirpy voice.

"Don't you even have a delivery boy there?" he screeched at Natsumi, though he never liked doing it.

"I think we do," Natsumi replied, "but………he has a bad tendency of getting lost."

"Oh, never mind, I'll get a pizza somewhere else," and he lowered the receiver.

Ban was given a lukewarm reception by the older and more powerful bosses of the triad section Chan was a member of. He did know why. Some of the people assembled had been the clients of the GetBackers, and some of the other people had been their targets. Chan defended him to the group, citing that they could utilize the experience of a retrieval expert to their advantage.

"But the man is not even Chinese!" one of the board members complained.

"Neither was the legendary White Tiger," Chan replied. "Yet he managed to control the organization."

It was then that the board looked at Ban more intently, awe filling their faces the longer they looked.

"Gentlemen, I believe that the spirit of that great leader is in this young man, and he will take our organization to greater heights. What say you?"

Whispers and murmurs were heard for a few moments. Ban pocketed his arms and looked out the window while they talked. He could not help but think of Ginji's shocked face when his limo passed by the Honky Tonk.

A general hush, as the eldest member of the board stood. "We agree to test the young man for the next two weeks."

Chan bowed politely to the elder. "We thank you for your generosity."

Thus, Ban was included in the next weekly board meeting of the organization, in the basement of a factory. It looked dreary from the outside, but the boardroom itself was cozy and opulent. Leather cushioned chairs with armrests surrounded a mahogany table.

His opinion was not needed at the meeting, so he spent most of it memorizing names, faces, and connections. Might prove useful both while part of the organization, and when he returned to being just plain old Ban of the GetBackers.

It was better that he was not asked about anything. He felt really odd. Somehow he just knew that Ginji was on the premises. For once, he hoped against hope, that his hunch was wrong.

That was the problem. His hunch for Ginji was never wrong.

An alarm went off from the side of the room. Everyone rose and scrambled and arranged. Soon no one would have known a syndicate had a meeting there.

"Intruder in the warehouse," the guard watching the monitors pointed at one of them.

Of the higher-ranked members, Ban was first to arrive at the monitors, and checked the one the guard pointed at. A young man was running the length of the warehouse toward a door. When he got there he tried to open the lock, then to spark it, to no avail.

It was him. Ginji. Alone. Without the spool. And no way to get him out without being cruel. Again. Dammit!

"Entrance and exit to the warehouse locked?" Chan asked, behind Ban.

"Yes, sir."

"Interesting. No accomplices this time," Chan noted, then smiled slyly at Ban. "I suppose the new leader can handle this by himself?"

Ban knew what the annoyance was trying to do: check his loyalty. This was not the time to betray it, not yet.

"The guy might put up a fight," he said. "I'll need backup."

"Alright," he said, and pointed to ten men. "Go with him."

Chan gave him a pass card to open the warehouse doors. Ban made a run for it, bodyguards and members following after him.

He was first to arrive, and swiped the card. He did not wait for the guards to enter first, but checked left and right himself then went in. Soon he was face to face with his friend.

Suit notwithstanding, the young man recognized him immediately. "BAN-CHAN!" He squealed, and started to run to him.

"Stop right there!" the bodyguards pointed their guns straight at Ginji, and stopped him in his tracks. "What business do you have with the White Tiger?"

"Huh? Come again?"

One man pointed to Ban. "What do you want with our boss?"

"Your BOSS?" Ginji laughed heartily. "Ban is your BOSS? But he doesn't like being in a company! Isn't that right, Ban-chan?"

Ban looked away.

One of the guards finally asked Ban himself. "Sir, do you know this man?"

Ban took a deep breath, lowered his head, and cocked up his glasses. He answered. "I don't know him."

Ginji looked at him, stunned. "But, but, but, Ban-chan……." His puppy-dog eyes were close to crying.

"A common thief, and a dumb one," he added, louder and haughtier, "for getting caught so quickly. Why should I be connected to him?" The men behind him readied clubs and pistols.

"WHAT? Ban-chan, have they brainwashed you or something?" Ginji paled.

"Get him, boys," he said. And soon the men charged.

Ginji slipped on the power gloves and started a barrage of electric strikes. Soon he was felling dark-suited, heavily armed, muscular men left and right.

So as not to rouse any suspicion, Ban too went down to the floor at the slightest shock from his friend. But Ginji did not notice that it was just an act, and Ban soon heard his friend's high tenor shrieking just above him as the sparker shook him like a rag doll. "Ban-chan! You okay, Ban-chan? Ban-chan!"

He kept his eyes shut, as he checked for other noises. Some groans, but not much else. Nobody was still walking or attacking. In typical Ginji fashion, all comers were down.

He bonked his friend on the head. "Stop shouting into my ear, of course I'm alright! It's not the first time you've electrocuted me!"

Then he remembered. The cameras. He can't be friendly with the enemy.

"Ban-chan! You're okay! Say, the suit looks swell on you!" Ginji jumped up with arms outstretched for a big hug.

Ban did not let him. He gave him a solid punch through the stomach.

"What part of 'We're through' did you NOT understand, Ginji?" he screamed at him.

Ginji backed up a few steps away. "But, but, Ban-chan….."

"No more buts!" He landed under punch. "What the hell are you doing here? Do you want to get killed so badly?"

"No, of course not! I don't wanna get killed!" his friend answered. "But I saw you in that fancy car with those scary people inside, and I wanted to make sure you're alright…"

He held his friend by the neck, and pushed him to a wall with the full force of the Snake Bite. He pulled back ever so slightly. His friend could breathe well enough, but could not pull himself away. He spoke to him with an angry hiss, very rapidly, in a voice only Ginji could hear, as his friend squirmed from the iron hold.

"Listen to me, Ginji, and listen good. Shock me, the way you did with the other people here. Knock me unconscious, I don't care. After you do that, run. Run straight back to the Honky Tonk. Do not go anywhere else. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200. Do not contact anyone. Stay in the basement tonight. Don't make yourself seen. Last: Find a red dragon. That's all I can tell you. After this, never look for me, if you want to stay alive. Never come back here, because the next time you do, I might not be able to save you. It's YOUR damn fault why I'm in this mess right now, so don't make it any worse for yourself or for me. I won't even ask if you remember everything I said. At the count of three, do it."

"Ban……"

He ignored it, and tightened his grip. "One……"

"-chan……don't….."

"Two……."

"Don't make me do it……"

"Three."

Ban choked his friend, and forced the reaction. Ginji gripped the hand that held him, and gave it a terrifying amount of electrical energy. The lights went out beyond his eyes, and he just barely felt himself fall to the floor.

"I'll come back for you, Ban-chan," he heard his friend above him, then heard the crunch of rubber shoes rapidly fading away.

The annoying sparker only blinded him for a few minutes, but did not knock him out. The shock was enough to keep him from standing, though. He still felt like he wanted to pass out. He stayed on the floor, closed his eyes, and waited for backup to arrive.

Maybe he did pass out after all. It seemed like forever before he heard voices and groans around him.

"That guy in the cameraman jacket……..he ain't normal!" one of the men said.

"Lightning! It was coming out of his hands!" said another.

He heard more footsteps. He opened his eyes and found more footmen and several of the subleaders entering the warehouse. He slowly, painfully sat up.

"Are you alright, sir?" One of the subleaders quickly asked.

"Toasted, I guess, but fine," Ban placed a hand in front of his eyes and checked if the fingers were all there and he could see them.

"We saw it in the surveillance camera. That guy gave you quite a shock!"

"But you were great as well, White Tiger! To get that close to the assailant, and choke him!" another man added.

"The name is Midou Ban," he hissed as he got up from the floor. "In future you will call me by my name. I am NOT the White Tiger!"

"But, sir……."

"Leave me alone!" he snapped. "I'll be at the bar if you need me."

His assigned guards started trailing after him, but he looked at them with piercing eyes. "Go back to HQ. Go to sleep. I said I'll be at the bar. I'm not going anywhere else. Get lost."

The guards shrugged, and started to walk away. He got into his assigned limo, and returned to the hotel.

He hid his eyes well under his small glasses, lit up a cigarette, and walked to the hotel bar. He sat at the uncomfortable stool, half expecting a white scribbled mug and a sandwich. "What will it be, sir?" the bartender asked.

"What's the strongest thing you have here?"

The bartender showed him the bottle at the far end of a shelf.

"Fine," he said. "And keep it coming. Don't worry. I'm not the kind who rants when I'm drunk."

"That bad," the bartender tsked at him as he poured it out. "You guys got caught?"

He shook his head. "I've just turned against my best friend."

The bartender looked at him with pity, as Ban gulped down the bitter drink in one second. "This life's like that, kiddo. This life's like that." He poured out another. "I've heard it too many times."

When the man said it was strong, it really was. Two gulps later, and he was already feeling dizzy, he who was a veteran of hard drinks. Still he kept on asking for more. The man obliged him, filling the glass as soon as it was empty. As he promised, he did not talk at all, just thrust out the little shot glass and took it back to down its new contents.

An almost empty bottle afterward, he held his head up with his hand on his forehead. His eyes began to droop. He pounded the counter. "I gotta get out, I gotta. I can't keep doing this," he mumbled as he shook his head and downed another glass.

"That's the problem, kid. Once you're in, there is only one way to leave."

"Yeah, I know as much." He settled his head on the counter. "Hey, you mind?"

The man said no, as he dried the rest of the glasses.

"Really sorry about this, man. I don't want to go up to that gilded cage yet. Just call any of those lackeys if you need to close up or something." He shut his eyes.

"And since when did customers become considerate of bartenders?" the one behind the counter asked with a surprised chuckle.

"Since this one met Paul," he muttered, and started to snore.

……………………………

Something I so like about being a writer. I've already been a drunkard, a smoker, and a temporary drug addict in my stories. (Yup, nice place, the RK section, ne?) In real life – I won't even get close to those things.

If you've never heard of Samurai 7, it's because it's quite new, just ending last Christmas in Japan. It's Gonzo's most ambitious anime to date, and is a semi sci-fi anime adaptation of Akira Kurosawa's movie Seven Samurai. I guess that sounds weird, but it worked. It's really neat, and you really get to know everybody's personality.

Thank you to Atropos' Knife, Rabid Lola (kabayan!), Winter Zephyr, and sapphi-chan for reviewing Multiplication. Sorry about the computation mistakes. Never liked math, always liked English. I keep apologizing because, as already said, Akabane was supposed to be the teacher.

**The Sinner of Anger** – Thanks so much for saying I did right with Ban-chan. The chapter scared me soon after it was done.

**Yami Neko Tenshi** – Thanks for all the pity for our duo. Thanks for liking it so far.

**Atropos Knife** – Wow, thanks for explaining to me what I was vaguely driving at for Ban-chan. Can you please explain who Rena is and why she's now working with Natsumi at the coffee shop? Thanks! And I do like Ginji with Natsumi, too. Thanks much for reading Multiplication. I thought I did something really bad, which is why nobody reviewed.

**Oro-man** – Thanks a lot!

Next chapter might take a while in coming, since I have wardwork and a school paper article to think about in the next few weeks. Just place me on Story Alert if you want to know when I do get to update. Thanks again!


	7. Chapter 7: counteroffer

I am seriously concerned now. I know Ban and Ginji are tough to write for, but I figured that more hard-core people would get him better than I do. By the way, ladies and gentlemen, please do not expect this story to be long. I am bringing in someone I did not expect to bring in. I hope I did it right. Still, don't expect Himiko (besides that thing in passing a few chapters ago) or Dr. Jackal or the rest of the Mugenjou people. I'd rather not push my luck. Let's see if I can do Ginji with any decency today. Aja!

Writing is therapy for me. Unfortunately for Jiro Came to Town (the other running fic, for RK), it was this chapter that needed to be written to get me sane this time around. Dialogue-intensive. Finished in one day. I had a lot of angst to release? The next chapter might take a while to come, though, because I have to plan it out. Thanks for reading.

…………………………………

Natsumi finished fixing her hair by the bathroom mirror. She then went to the lockers and took out her school bag and jacket. She was allowed to leave rather early. She had algebra to deal with when she got home.

She waved goodbye to Paul, but heard the café door chime and the door slam shut.

At the bottom of the door, manager and assistant saw their blonde perpetual customer, seated on the floor, panting heavily.

"What happened?" Paul asked.

He got no answer. "Paul-san, can I stay in the basement tonight?" Ginji asked, still panting.

"Why?"

"He told me to stay in the basement."

"Who?"

"Can I?" he said, then like a little boy who remembered, added, "May I? Please?"

Paul scratched his head over the bandana. "I guess you can stay there, if that's what you want. Just don't bother with the computer. MakubeX is sending me a heavy program."

"Yes, sir. Thank you." He gave a final sigh, wiped his forehead, and dragged himself down the steps.

Paul looked at Natsumi and scratched his bandana again. "What just happened?"

"I don't know, either, boss," Natsumi shrugged. But she put down her bag and jacket, and went to the kitchen.

She went to down to the basement, armed with a glass of iced tea in one hand. She found Ginji seated on the floor, blankly staring up at the ceiling.

She tapped him on the shoulder, and offered the glass. He said thank you, drank it all down, gave back the glass. Then he looked up at the ceiling again.

"Natsumi, do you know where I can find a red dragon?" he asked.

"Um, a red dragon is a pretty common thing, especially in Chinatown," she answered. "Why?"

"He asked me to find a red dragon. And to stay in the basement. And to never look for him again."

"Huh?"

"Because it's my fault he's in the mess he's in. It's my fault. Unless I find a red dragon, I can't make it right."

He did not say another word after that, no matter how much Natsumi coaxed him to talk.

From one of the cabinets, she took out a small pillow and a blanket, the same set they used when Sakura came over to do some hacking through Paul's system. She handed them to Ginji, who gave her a little smile of thanks. She said good night and went on her way.

When she came back to the Honky Tonk after school the next day, he was still in the basement, surfing the net for a red dragon. He shook his head in despair at Google, going over the links of the 40th page of search results.

Paul eventually asked Ginji to wash the windows. The young man nodded, got the wash cloth, detergent, and a bucket from the stock room. He got water from the hose outside the café, and quietly soaped and rinsed the windows. He was not even singing, not even whistling.

Neither Paul nor Natsumi asked why. They knew what was the matter with him. Both knew that it would hurt more to ask him to talk about it. But Paul did know he had to talk about something, anything, some time.

He readied a grocery list, and asked Natsumi if she could buy them toward the end of her shift. She said yes.

"Ginji-san, would it be alright if you went with me?" she asked him.

"Sure thing," he answered as he finished wiping the tables. No happy grin.

If manager and assistant had the idea that they would get the blonde sparker to chat a bit while picking up groceries, both were mistaken. He kept to himself, obviously thinking about something, something he did not want to tell them. Still, Natsumi was glad to see him smile a bit more for her, as he helped pick out apples and oranges.

Ginji did not talk much over the next few days. Even if Natsumi tried to be cheerful and happily talked about school work and her club meetings, Ginji listened politely with a forced sad smile. He did not ask for details and did not add his own little stories about the day.

As her little way of cheering him up, she made him go with her every evening after work to the grocery. There was a little stall just beyond the sliding doors, where she got juice for the two of them. It was not too sweet like most drinks, and had just a slight touch of sourness to it, just enough to make it nice. They would then bring it with them, as they walked to the bus stop, and waited for Natsumi's bus to arrive. On normal days neither Ban nor Ginji would be able to do this for her, as they were often out on an evening job. That's why she liked it that, for now at least, she had company going to the bus stop. Not that she didn't like Ban-san, but it was nicer having Ginji-san around. Sad or not.

As the bus came, she got in and waved to Ginji from inside. He gave her a happy grin and waved back.

Poor Natsumi did not realize that he was just being nice. The trips to the bus stop made him miserable. He had to walk alone back to the Honky Tonk afterward. No one to whack him on the head and call him names – and generally, just to make the walk less boring.

The gloom had not lifted when Kadzuki and Shido decided to visit the Honky Tonk.

The two greeted their former leader as they entered, seeing him washing the dishes behind the counter. But as they sat down to a table, they noticed that Ginji had not changed his blank stare through the window.

"Ginji-san?" Kadzuki repeated.

Ginji looked down at the sink and took out another plate.

"Ginji-san!" the string master tried again.

Natsumi saw the trouble, and patted the dishwasher gently on the shoulder, pointing to Kadzuki. It was only then that he snapped out of his reverie, quickly shook his head, and greeted. "Oh, hi, Kadzuki, Shido. Sorry."

Shido sauntered to the counter, and sat in front of the sink. "Out with it, Ginji-san. What's the matter with you? Shades giving you trouble again?"

He shook his head.

"Dr. Jackal?"

He shook his head again.

"Then what IS it!" Shido pounded a fist at the counter.

"I think Ban has more to do with it than Akabane-san," Kadzuki also came near and rubbed his chin. He looked at the blonde young man, sighing at the suds on the sink. "Yes?"

"He said it's my fault why things are this way," he said quietly, still looking down at the sink. "But we planned things out when we went to that building, didn't we, Kadzuki? We didn't get in his way when we went there…….did we?"

Kadzuki could not answer, but began to think.

"He said he might not be able to save me if I tried to find him again. What did he mean?"

Kadzuki did not offer to explain. "Where is he? Ban-san?"

"I don't know! I really don't! But he's, he's, some sort of a mafia guy now, I think. I don't know for how long." He sighed again. "And it's my fault."

Kadzuki sighed as well. "That……….might be true."

Ginji drained out the soapwater and dried his hands. Shido in the meantime gave his fellow Volts leader a stern look. The nerve of him to tell Raitei that he was indeed at fault?

"Calm down, Shido-kun," Kadzuki raised a hand, and grew serious.

It was that aura of a Fuchoin leader, that made Ginji sit with them, also with a serious, all-business bearing.

"As you know, my main work is as an Informer, not as a Retriever, like the two of you. The grapevines have been buzzing of late. The yakuza and the other organizations have heard rumors that the Shinjuku branch of the Hong Kong triad have a new and powerful subleader. In just two days he has managed to orchestrate two, successful, bank heists. It's the kind of thing the other groups would only dream of doing. This new leader got to do it. In two days."

Shido nodded. "I've already got three job requests from those two heists."

"Here's the thing, Ginji-san," Kadzuki said, and took a deep breath. "They don't know the name of the new leader yet. But word has it that he is known by a code name. White Tiger."

Ginji interrupted. "But isn't that the code name of that guy in the picture……….."

"Who looks a lot like Midou Ban," Kadzuki finished.

Ginji looked at his friend with bulging eyes, and sudden, full understanding.

Kadzuki spelled it out for Shido, nonetheless. "The last time Ginji-san and I talked about it, Ban-san absolutely did not want to be this White Tiger person, a former Shanghai triad boss. He was angry at Ginji for taking the Jade Dragon job. He temporarily dissolved the partnership. We knew he was still investigating the case, so Ginji and I took another route, to help him somewhat. But we went wrong somewhere, I know that now. We were used to bait Ban-san into agreeing to be the White Tiger."

Natsumi, listening in on the conversation, instinctively looked at the white mug on one of the shelves, full of blue marker scribbling that the great Midou Ban owned it.

"I don't know Ban-san that well, but I know that it's frightening how much he is getting immersed in this new job," Kadzuki mused. "And if the White Tiger is not careful, he will be hunted down, sooner than he thinks."

Ginji had returned to being blank and brooding. "But what do we do?"

"I've no plans of going against Ban, okay?" Shido muttered as he munched on a sandwich. "I turned down the three jobs directly related to the heists. Running into him during retrieval jobs, I can deal with. Going directly against his work? I'm not that stupid."

"Plus, you want to stay alive to get home to Madoka, yes?" Kadzuki grinned happily as Shido grumbled.

Ginji sighed and looked out the window, blank.

It was then that a young man entered the Honky Tonk with a huff and a puff, quickly asking for the GetBackers. Natsumi saw him and waved. "Hayashida-san! I'm glad you made it!"

As the young man sat down where the two Retrievers and the Informer were huddled, Natsumi gave introductions. He was Hayashida Kenji, a pretty good kendo practitioner and one of Natsumi's friends. He went abroad for a few years of college and had come back to check on his grandmother. But he was all in a panic about getting something back that was sold, so Natsumi referred him to the GetBackers. He was just about as tall and as lean as the other three people, with a short crop of hair.

Kadzuki asked the usual questions, the what, when, and where. Shido listened with interest. Ginji just kept looking at the young man, none of Natsumi's words registering with him.

Hayashida took a picture of a green statue, and placed it on the table.

Ginji suddenly snapped to attention. "But, that's, that's the Jade Dragon!" he exclaimed.

"You already know about it? I'm so glad! I don't have to explain!" the young man said and pocketed the picture. "I know it's a tall order, but I've heard such good things about you guys, I was hoping you could do it."

As Natsumi brought a cup of coffee to the potential client, he began to explain. "It's like this. The statue is a family heirloom of sorts. It was hidden from the world, and quietly passed on through the generations. But my grandmother, she sold it! She needed money to keep me in college, so she sold it! I told her she didn't have to do it, but when I found out, it was too late. Now, for her sake, I want to get the statue back and keep it with us."

"But, but, I can't take this case!" Ginji fumbled. "First of all, I'm by myself right now, and I don't know that negotiating stuff Ban-chan does. Then, I already took in the Jade Dragon case. We have to give it to this person called Mr. Chan Feilong."

"It shouldn't go to anybody, please! I don't know how you do it, but you just have to!" the young man pleaded. "The Jade Dragon belongs to our family now! Even Enishi-sama would want it that way!"

"Enishi-sama?"

"Yukishiro Enishi, the original owner! My grandmother said so! He left it with us!"

"No way," Ginji looked at the earnest young man, not sure what to believe, wanting to be like Ban-chan and be suspicious but not knowing how to be suspicious. "Do you have proof?"

The young man nodded. "I've seen all the replicas, and I'm pretty sure. My grandmother's statue is the only one that has Chinese characters and kanji at the base. It's the real thing."

"But other replica owners can ask for a quote to be placed at the base, can they not?" Kadzuki asked.

"Maybe, but not those exact words," he said. "The replicas don't have it because the words were not there yet when the Jade Dragon was unveiled to the public. The words were added later, while he was building up the Rengoku and the other weapons. That's why the other replicas don't have it, and don't copy it."

"Slow down, slow down!" Ginji's head was starting to ache. "Never mind the story for now, you can tell us later. What are the words?"

"In Chinese: 'The eyes of the tiger are drawn to the heart of the dragon.' In Japanese: 'Death to the red dragon.' "

"No other statue has it?" Kadzuki confirmed. The young man nodded.

"So, if we find this statue, we know that we have the real, true blue, genuine, Jade Dragon?" Ginji added. The young man nodded again.

Shido barged in at this point. "I'm proxying for Shades here, because I know Ginji-san's too nice to ask himself. How much are you willing to pay if we get back the Jade Dragon for you? Last I know, Chan's willing to shell out at least a million for it."

The client's eyes bulged wide. "A million dollars?"

"Yup, just for information about the Jade Dragon. Two million if we find it," Ginji said.

"But I don't have anything close to a million!" he slunk deeper into the seat and sighed. So did the string and beast master.

Natsumi looked at Ginji, begging silently. Paul hid behind a newspaper. Ginji's eyes moved up to the shelf, to the white scribbled mug.

That's right. If he took in the case, he would get Ban-chan back, wouldn't he? Maybe it was worth a try.

Ginji moved to where the client sat and put an arm around his shoulders. "Tell you what. I think you're telling us the truth, okay? We – Kadzuki, Shido, and me – we'll see what we can do, get the Jade Dragon first, then we find out how you'll pay us. Deal?"

Kadzuki sweatdropped at such a crazy proposition. Shido slapped his forehead. "Why do I know he would say that?"

Even the client could not believe it. "Are you sure about this, Amano-san? Because I really don't know how I'll get money to pay you!"

Ginji gave a wide grin. "I want to get back Ban-chan. If this is the only way, I'll do it. Then I'll make him think about how we're to be paid!"

The young man smiled broadly, and bowed to all three. "I promise to pay, really and truly, if you can return the Jade Dragon to us. I don't care how much. I'll find a way. Thank you so much!"

Ginji told him to come back in three days to inquire about how the case was going. He also gave the Honky Tonk's telephone number for contact purposes, and asked the young man for his own contact number. It was the usual way Ban ended negotiations with clients. The new client kept bowing and thanking, then went on his way.

The three Volts leaders then looked at each other.

"Um, Ginji-san?" Kadzuki asked. "I'm sorry – are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Ginji grinned……..and shook his head. "But it won't be so hard," he smiled at them and took out the paper fans. "If we find Ban-chan, we find the Jade Dragon. Or the other way around. Right?"

He recalled what Ban told him a few days earlier: Find a red dragon.

Ban knew about that red dragon. He had seen the real Jade Dragon. He knew where it was. Maybe he was just making sure that was it, that's why he was asking Ginji to find out what the "red dragon" mentioned was. And being already in the triad, it was just a matter of time before he knew about the real Jade Dragon, and would give it over to Chan.

Ginji had to take the Jade Dragon from Ban. Not good. But it had to be done.

If he wanted to get back his friend.

………………………….

The new person is Hayashida just because. I've become something of a Samurai 7 nut right now. Hayashida Heihachi is one of my favorites out of the seven samurai.

To those of you who are RK nuts reading this piece, you do realize that I'm making up stuff, right? To the GB people, I am first and foremost an RK writer, and I am mixing in hardcore RK stuff into this story. Stuff I will explain eventually. Just a hint: Don't think too much. I'm not Agatha Christie. I'm sorry if this chapter turned out a bit crazy. It was something of a rush job.

**Junyortrakr** – You, poor sir, already deserve a reply. Here. Thank you for all the comments. Thank you so much for reading this stuff even if you don't have a blessed clue about what GetBackers is! I highly recommend that you do watch it or read the manga. The world is outrageous but the characters are really well made. As for poor Yahiko, I still don't know what he'll do – or, I know what he will do, I don't know HOW he'll do it. Furthermore, I'm not sure how Jiro is supposed to take all the information when he is finally told. And school life is not the best way to get inspiration. That's why there's still no new update for Jiro Came to Town. I know it's the reason why you read Eyes of the Tiger. I'm not forgetting the RK fic, I promise. I'm just blocked right now.

**The Sinner of Anger** – Now I am really scared about what I'm doing right. It's not supposed to be that way, seeing I'm just a visitor to the GB section. Thank you so much.

**Atropos' Knife** – Thank you for all the info about Rena. Thank you for the suggestion about how to deal with Ginji. Thanks for liking the pizza delivery bit, it was a last-minute thing, to complete the chapter. Gabby snitch, the bartender? Nah, I don't think so.


	8. Chapter 8: story

Thanks for waiting. Med student life ain't fair to nice people like me. 8 ) AK, it's your fault. I've liked Ginji with Natsumi from just watching the anime. But you made me consider including it here. Bad, bad. 8 )

Sorry for another dialogue-intensive chapter. I actually had to remove some conversations, egad.

………………………………………

He woke up with a terrible hangover.

The orchestration of the 2 bank heists was actually simple enough, just larger-scale versions of the GetBackers' attack on protected buildings. But it gave him a taste of the power he had been given suddenly; an unquestionable power over people and events. It was thrilling, to a degree, having people answer to him. Yet he also felt the angry fire of that power. He could exact vengeance on almost anything or anyone with that hold on resources and manpower.

As he planned out the heists, he felt the blood boiling in him. All those times that adults threw him out as a street rat, all the times people did not take him seriously. All the times that corrupt people in high places made lives terrible for ordinary people. The time had come to unleash his revenge on them all, slowly but surely.

But sometime in the midst of the congratulations and the celebrations for 2 incredibly successful operations, he remembered. This was not like him. Not at all. To forget the fact, he sauntered over to the hotel bar and tried to numb his thoughts with alcohol. Thus, the hangover. He had been in control enough to know that he rode the elevator and walked into his suite on his own. He barely made it to the sofa.

"Maria-san, what in the world am I doing here?" he muttered, before he fell asleep.

He had not called or communicated with the café in any way for at least a week. He did not want to talk to him, or any of the people in his life, just then. He did not know what was happening. He was not sure if his cursed eyes were playing tricks on him. But every time he looked in a mirror, he did not see himself. He saw the man in the sepia print.

He felt it. All the vengeance he had pent up, surfacing, manifesting. Anger against parents, caretakers, friends, enemies, himself, and the curse. It influenced his thoughts and his movements. There was ferocity in them that even he did not know he had.

The electric dragon. He had defused it in him, that fierceness and that vengeance that threatened to eat him alive. Maybe it was true that lone tiger Midou Ban stopped the Thunder Emperor from being consumed by himself. But it was also true that, in his quiet way, Amano Ginji had done the same for him.

He absentmindedly took up the phone, and dialed the Honky Tonk's number.

"Honky Tonk, how may I help you?"

Natsumi. How long had it been since he last heard her? Was she getting along with Ginji? Was she……

"Hello? Who is this please?"

He heard plates being washed. Ginji was on duty.

"I'm putting the phone down…….."

He coughed, and lowered his voice. "I'd like to order the house specialty pizza?"

"You again!" the young lady exclaimed at the other end. "You don't ever give up, do you? We don't deliver! You have to come over to buy it!"

He was annoyed at too many things, and the girl received some of it. "So why don't you take it to me, then? I can pay you, you know!"

"And just what do you mean by that?"

"What's the matter with you, woman? Can't a guy call a shop and not be harassed? Useless, pathetic witch!" All the words came out, before he could stop the words, before he remembered again that it was nice familiar Natsumi he was talking to.

Natsumi had had enough. She started to shout. "Stop bothering us already, okay? You're stupid to keep insisting on something we can't give you! And you have the nerve to shout at me like that? You're even worse than Ban-san!"

The last sentence took him aback.

"I'm warning you, my boss has ways of tracking you down----" then the voice faded.

He heard some words exchanged between Natsumi and Paul. Then he heard Paul's voice. "Stop irritating my assistant. What do you want?"

Ban reverted to his usual voice, but kept up the farce. "The house specialty pizza, large, please."

"She already told you, we don't deliver," Paul kept his end of the line.

"What about that guy I always hear in the background when I call? The other assistant, the cleaning boy, whoever he is----"

"Just a regular customer who hangs around here," then Paul emphasized, "and doesn't pay his tab!"

So Ginji was still perfectly alright, for now.

"Is there anything I should tell him?" Paul asked gently.

He bit his lip. He felt the receiver trembling in his hand. "Nothing. My mistake," he said. "Tell the girl I'm sorry," and he quickly hung up.

He walked out to the balcony, and lit up a cigarette. "Really sorry about that, Natsumi-chan." He puffed out a long stream of smoke.

A short set of knocks, then a well-dressed young man entered his room, meeting him in the balcony with a bow. "Midou-san," he began – the regular guards now knew better than to call him by the alias – "here is the information you requested." The guard handed him a folder with papers inside.

"Thanks," he said, and took them. "Anything else?"

"That's all, Midou-san." The guard raised himself from the long bow.

"Fine," he smirked. "You can go."

As Ban opened the folder and took out the papers, the young man made a final bow and exited.

It was finally in his hands. The name of the person who sold the statue in his suite. Kitano Kaoru, former surname Himura. It also gave her current address and particulars. She lived alone in a traditional-style house. She looked the typical granny. Someone you would not expect to own such a fancy statue.

But a good lead had to be followed, impossible as it may seem. He wanted to know what made this statue different from the other replicas. He wanted to confirm his suspicion, that this was the real thing. Besides, the old lady might even be able to give the answers he was looking for. Answers to questions such as: why in the world did he look so much like Yukishiro Enishi? How was he connected to him?

It was still on his mind during the next board meeting, later that day.

Members of the board were singing his praises. The police, like the other organizations, were stumped by the heists. They knew the mastermind was called White Tiger, but nothing more. And the branch was now several million yen richer, with no way of tracking the money. It was a masterful use of manpower, planning, and skill. The new leader had also tweaked the security systems of the headquarters here and there, making entry by police and others more difficult. He was a wonderful, powerful addition to the branch.

All this passed over Ban's bowed head, as he kept thinking.

They talked next about smuggling operations that needed to be done. Ban nonchalantly told them of possible target areas that the police did not frequent. Easy stuff, stuff he had learned both as part of Yamato's team and while with Ginji. The target areas were planned in, taken almost without question. The operation would not be directly linked to any of them, much less the White Tiger.

But Ban backed off when assassination plots and plans were discussed. They were not his thing. He was a retriever, not a murderer.

Three hours of much planning, and the eldest member stood up. "Much work was done today. We will now adjourn. I will see you all tomorrow."

Middle-aged men shuffled out of the boardroom, as Chan cornered Ban at the window. "Good work, Midou-han. I was right to ask you to join us."

Ban clenched a fist and glared darts at the wiry man with the smirk.

"You can go back to the hotel now," Chan said. "We meet tomorrow."

"I'll be out tomorrow," Ban said. "Investigation."

"Sorry, but you'll be needed tomorrow at the meeting."

"This thing I have to do can't wait either," he countered. He raised a piece of paper. "This woman might have information on the real White Tiger." He tossed it over to Chan.

"Make someone else do it, then," Chan spoke quickly, and motioned the man behind him to come near. "Send Lee to this address. Tell the woman they have one day to reply. Tell her they're orders from the White Tiger."

"What are the orders, sir?" the messenger asked.

"The house will be burned down, unless they comply to a full search and interrogation."

"WHAT the hell!" Ban was unable to control his shock.

"I told you, Midou-han, use the organization to its full capability," the wiry man smiled slightly at him, and shooed the messenger away. "Sorry, but I can't let you out of my sight for too long."

He hissed at the man. "I'm just here for the Jade Dragon, Chan Feilong. Once it's found, I'm gone."

Chan tsked. "Such a pity, then. And you are such a help to our branch, too." He drew closer. "When the time comes, Midou-han, we WILL allow to you leave the organization. However, you do understand, we have to stop you from telling our secrets."

Ban hmphed.

"At the least sign of betrayal, we will show the heavy hand that keeps this organization intact. Understood?"

"Perfectly."

Ban quickly went to one of the stairwells, and began to pace, like the caged tiger he was.

…………………………………….

Ban always looked for paper trails and clues first, but Ginji preferred to know more about the client. This was the principle he used now, in the absence of more rational advice. He asked Natsumi to go with him to Hayashida Kenji's house.

He was the one who drove themselves there. He was a serviceable driver, as long as it was on low speeds and with clear directions. But Natsumi did not give directions to her friend's house directly. She gave him the directions to his grandmother's house, where she expected him to be on most afternoons.

Her hunch was right. The young man peered at the gate of a wooden house with a wide front yard. He was happy to see them, but wondered why they visited.

"Maybe we could learn a little more about the Jade Dragon first, from your point of view," Ginji beamed at the client.

"Oh, of course, of course!" Hayashida opened the gate wider and let them in.

The first hour was spent in small talk over tea and cakes, as the client and Natsumi talked about old times as neighbors and playmates. Natsumi also properly introduced Ginji to her old friend, and was glad to see them get along quite well. Hayashida chatted about kendo and college life abroad, as Ginji listened with much interest. Ginji in turn described life in Mugenjou in general terms, explaining how it was different from the rest of Shinjuku.

The guests were then brought to a room at the back of the house. Quite large, roughly the size of a garage, it held many mementos of previously won kendo matches and other academic achievements over the years. It also housed memorabilia that looked at least a century old. There were several old portraits and daguerreotypes in the room. One was a copy of the white-haired young man in a Chinese suit. There was one portrait of the young man posing stiffly beside what looked like the Jade Dragon. In several frames were newspaper articles on the mysterious Jade Dragon.

Hayashida opened a drawer, and showed them his photographs of the inscriptions he described, as well as other pictures of the green statue. As he had mentioned, one photographed message was in Chinese and the other in Japanese.

"So you know what the words mean?" Ginji asked.

"More or less," the client said. He pointed to the daguerreotype of the white-haired man in a Chinese suit. "That is Yukishiro Enishi, the White Tiger, as you probably know." He then pointed to a daguerreotype of a man in a low messy ponytail, a seated young woman with long hair in a bow, and a boy at her lap. He pointed more specifically at the man in the picture. "This is Himura Kenshin, the Red Dragon."

Ginji scratched his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't get it."

Hayashida ruffled his hair, dark reddish-brown. "It's not too obvious with me anymore, but you should've seen my mom's hair, and my grandmother's, too." He pointed again. "He's my ancestor, my grandmother's grandfather, and according to Grandmother, his hair was very red. A foreigner for a father, it is speculated. That stuff about a dragon? It's a reference to his sword style," the client explained. "Movements of the nine-headed dragon, and such like. The succession technique is described as a dragon's claws keeping its hold on the enemy."

The client then sat down on the floor, and motioned for the two to follow suit. "Yukishiro-san had a big grudge against Himura-san back then. Himura-san got married to Yukishiro's sister first. But during an attack on his life, Himura-san killed her by mistake ……."

Natsumi gasped, and looked well at the cheerful man in the picture.

The client continued, "……however, Yukishiro-san understood that Himura-san killed her in earnest. For years Yukishiro-san held that grudge and went to China, then he returned and tried to cause hell on earth for Himura-san. He wanted the death of the red dragon. His eyes, the eyes of the tiger, were focused on, were drawn to, the heart of the dragon, his brother-in-law. Do you get it, even slightly?"

Ginji nodded.

"So you see, it's not a clue to anything. It was a reminder of an oath of vengeance," Hayashida shrugged.

"Your Enishi-sama……..he was the one who told your grandmother all this?" Natsumi asked.

Her friend replied. "Much of it, her father told her when she got a bit older. But Grandmother remembers this dark night when she was rather young and her grandfather was away. Enishi-sama came in a black car with a few men. He talked with her parents and grandmother," and he pointed to the pretty young woman in the picture. "Then this heavy wooden box was brought in and brought to the storage room.

"She followed the men and Enishi-sama to the storage room. She remembered him saying, 'Don't hold grudges, alright? Don't be like me. Keep the statue here for as long as you can. Who knows? It might be worth something someday.'

"Grandmother says she saw him last when she was 10 years old, having a long conversation with his grandfather while having tea. They were very serious, but they separated amiably. Her family received reports of his death a little after the end of World War I. True to his orders, she kept the statue in the family, going through much expense to transport it quietly when we moved to Shinjuku. That's pretty much the end of the story."

"That's such a sad story," Ginji commented with a sniff. Natsumi, beside him, agreed.

Hayashida stood up, and clenched a fist. "I want that statue to stay with our family. I don't want a grudge to pass on to someone else. I want the White Tiger to have his peace. I want the pain of the Red Dragon to end."

"That may be so, dearest grandson, but other people don't think the same way."

Hayashida's grandmother stood at the door of the storage room, wearing a simple blue kimono, her white hair streaked with red-brown strands. The two guests stood up and bowed respectfully. She bowed in return, then hobbled quickly to her grandson. "A search has been ordered," she said. "If we don't comply, they burn the house."

"But, obaa-san!" he protested. "Who ordered it?"

She said with a ghostlike face, "The White Tiger of the Chinese triads."

"That can't be!"

Ginji looked at Natsumi, and frowned. "Yes, it can. The White Tiger knows something, and tracked you down."

"But, but…" and the client pointed to the picture on the shelf.

"There's a new one," Ginji said and sighed.

The blonde young man asked Natsumi if she had any wallet or cellular phone photos of the GetBackers. She nodded and fished out her clam phone. She found a picture of Ban eating a pizza, and showed it to the client. "Does he look familiar to you?" she asked.

Hayashida said no, but looked at it even more, then showed it to his grandmother.

"Impossible….." was all she said. "Enishi-sama………."

"It might be possible," Hayashida said to his grandmother. "He disappeared for such a long time, you said. Our family did not know where he went, what he did."

Natsumi rubbed her chin. "Could it be that he got the looks from your Enishi-sama, but got the Jagan from future generations?"

Ginji raised a hand, and stopped further painful speculation. "That's not so important, right now, Natsumi-chan," He said with authority. "First, we have to stop the triad from burning down this house. We have to show them that the Jade Dragon isn't here."

"How?"

Ginji grinned. "I don't know yet. But I'm hoping you'll come with me."

……………………………………

Again, much of this rigmarole is derived from, but is not canon, RK material. This is derived from the Jinchuu arc material, semi-animated in the OAVs. (For the RK nuts, I won't be following SeisouHen's story.) The Kyoto arc (the one with Shishio) has better characters and fights. The Jinchuu arc (with Enishi) has better plot organization and drama. The Jinchuu arc is the one that completes the portrait of Kenshin's persona and personality – and if you still don't admire Kenshin after it, something is definitely wrong with you.

The RK fanfic community is one tough group. If you want to be respected, you have to be true to manga, character, Japanese history, all at once, and still deliver a great story. I guess I learned a lot from the quality of some of the better fics to be found there. In the RK section of you can say I've seen the Beltline but couldn't go past it. I'm not good enough yet to be generally recommended by the best of them, but at least I'm read and I get into favorites lists. I'm pretty happy with that.

**Daemonchan – **Thanks much for the compliments, but Atropos' Knife can testify that I still commit mistakes with details of this story. I found out that the car was a Ladybug from reading one of her stories, and I went, "Oh…….no……..oh, no……." If it's any consolation, I finish what I start. Unfortunately for you, I'm from one of the countries where summer is over and the school year is already running, so you might have to wait for a long time for some updates. Thank you for waiting.

**Atropos' Knife **– Hehe. Yup, I like Heihachi. If you saw what we Samurai 7 fans saw, you would, too. Basically it's like why people gravitate to Nuriko of FY, for example. I know I liked Mitsukake a little more after…….. Well, you can see I'm a sucker for that kind of plot device. Sometimes anime plots ain't fair to nice people. As for Shido-kun, I'm really sorry for the mistakes. For the life of me I couldn't remember at that time all about the sea urchin name-calling. Thanks for the corrections. It's spare and straight to the point because I didn't know what else to do. It IS in dollars, I checked my first chapter. My hellos to rabid lola!

**Junyortrakr** – Um, sir, his name is Amano Ginji, with an I. Thanks for the compliment.


	9. Chapter 9: interrogation

Hello. Sorry for the delay. Believe me, the delay is even worse for the RK fics. On with the story. Dialogue-intensive, again. Oh, man.

…………………….

There was no time to lose. They had to get back the statue tonight. The Kitano house should not be torched.

After giving Hayashida instructions to keep watch that evening, Ginji and Natsumi got back into the little car. His hands on the wheel, he knit his forehead, and tried hard to think. He took out his own clam phone and handed it to her. "Please call Shido and Kadzuki, tell them to meet us at the Honky Tonk in 20 minutes, if it's possible. Then call Himiko-san, and ask if she could be available in an hour with a van." He started the car.

She made the calls as he drove. Kadzuki would be ready. Shido would be a bit late; he was waiting for Madoka to finish final rehearsals on a recital. Himiko was free and just needed instructions – but she did ask why it was Natsumi doing the calling. Where was the usual contact?

"Ban-san…..um, Ban-san is not with us on this case," Natsumi told her. She said that he was currently unavailable, and she and Ginji did not know much else.

"Stop evading me, Natsumi," the Transporter answered over the phone. "I've heard about the bank heists and the White Tiger, too."

"That's all we know as well, sorry, Himiko-san," Natsumi replied. "So, will you help us?"

"It's a job, like any other," was all she said, and ended the call.

Ginji parked the little car in front of the Honky Tonk, and looked straight ahead as he took out the key. "Natsumi-chan……can I really do this? Myself? Without Ban-chan?"

She smiled. "Sure, you can. You've retrieved stuff hundreds of times. Besides, what will Ban-san say if we break your 100 success rate?"

"Ban-chan will be furious," he smiled sadly. He got out, and opened the passenger door for her. "Let's do this."

The manager of the Honky Tonk insisted on Ginji and Natsumi having a quick dinner before starting on any mission. On the house, for once. By the time they were through, Kadzuki had arrived, and a panting Shido soon after.

"Let's see…we'll need a way in, a way out, and a way to store the statue without being seen….."Ginji thought aloud on a bar stool.

"And we need a disguise, of course," Kadzuki added, beside him.

"Um, I do have to ask," Natsumi piped in. "Where are we going?"

Ginji scratched his head again. "Oh, yeah, right……"

"You already have the address, Natsumi," Paul answered from behind the newspaper.

"Huh?"

"You remember that address the annoying guy keeps giving you?"

"The one who always calls………about the pizza delivery?"

Paul nodded. Then he cocked his glasses with two fingers, much like Ban would.

Natsumi gasped and placed both hands over her mouth. "And I was so cruel….."

"At least he talked to you," Ginji sighed.

"He knew you couldn't be tricked, and you couldn't play along," Paul explained.

"And –I—can be tricked?" Natsumi pouted.

"And I couldn't play along," Ginji sighed again.

"I didn't mean it that way, Natsumi," Paul placed a hand on her shoulder, then on Ginji. "But Ginji knows him too well, and knows all the disguises. Give us the address."

Natsumi sulked and recited the address to the hotel suite, sadly imitating the caller's irritated tones, threats, and taunts.

Kadzuki thanked the young lady. "Well, that settles where we're going. Now for the rest of the plans. The disguise?"

"Hmmm…….what do we dress up as?" Ginji began to scratch his head. So did the rest of the people around him.

"But, what if we don't need to dress up?" Natsumi mused, as she looked at the other three. "I mean, I'm already dressed up nicely, and so are you guys."

"I don't get it yet," Kadzuki told her.

She gave a happy grin. "We'll be ourselves, act casual, enter the hotel like nothing."

"But the organization already knows what we look like," Kadzuki reminded.

"Hmmmm…….well, then. Shido-san and I enter the front door like ordinary tourists with a very big suitcase, you and Ginji-san can sneak your way in through the service entrance, then be our porters." She grinned widely at Shido. "I'm sure she'll understand. It's just for a few hours, and I'll explain things to her."

Shido just chuckled at her concern.

Ginji still scratched his head, but Kadzuki rubbed his chin and smiled at Natsumi. "Not bad at all, Natsumi-chan. It just might work."

The young lady blushed and went to the kitchen. She allowed the men to plan out the rest, as she got cups of freshly brewed coffee for them. Kadzuki borrowed Paul's trusty laptop and managed to get a blueprint of the hotel in a few minutes. Being the most familiar to this kind of operation, Ginji pointed out the shortest and best route to the top floor. Shido eventually discussed with Natsumi how they would enter the hotel lobby without being conspicuous.

The plan was all arranged by the time the Transporter arrived with her van. The group collectively rose to leave.

"Oh, Natsumi, by the way," Paul reached into the counter, and took out a small black box. He gave it to her. "Bring this along. The stuff inside is padded, but fragile, so be careful."

"What's inside, boss?"

"Two vials and a device to use them with. You'll know when to use it, there's a small manual on how to use it correctly. Take care of it and use it well, alright?"

She nodded.

……………………………………

Chan Feilong did not control how he spent his evenings. As long as someone in the organization knew where he was going at any given time, the nights were his. So even if his driver were to squeal about his going to the Kitano residence, Chan could not complain. It was investigation.

The limo stopped at a middle-class residential area, a combination of old and new houses. The house was somewhat large but not opulent. Something to be expected of an old lady who had a good life. It was quite dark already. The street lights were lit, giving patches of shadows and brightness. He stayed in the darkness, and pressed on the doorbell.

He did not have to wait long before the gate opened. "Is this where Kitano Kaoru lives?" he asked the young man who answered.

The young man took a good look at him. His jaw dropped, and his knees knocked. "We…….we don't have it, I swear it, please believe me, have mercy on my grandmother……"

Ban smiled slightly, and took out a cigarette. "I dunno what you've been told, but I just want to ask some questions. Even if the old lady won't answer me, I guarantee the house will stay standing, got it?"

"But……..but……..aren't you the White……"

"Midou Ban. Pleased to meet you." He moved the young man aside, and entered the gate. He walked straight through the stony path, and directly to the house.

He wandered around the traditional-style house, filled with large and old wood planks and gorgeous lacquered cabinets. With the flustered young man tailing behind him, he opened all the rooms and looked in all the cabinets. Nothing substantial. No secret entrances and hidden compartments. No WAY was this an old underworld boss' hideout.

But he did find a room full of old junk and antiques. And in a prominent place on a shelf, a picture of his doppelganger. He found copies of the newspaper clips he had already seen either on microfilm or scanned onto the database. He saw pictures of other people he did not recognize, and probably did not matter. Finally, he opened a large crate. Inside it was wadded with cotton then lined with rich silk. The impression left on the empty crate was shaped much like that of the green statue in his room.

Thus, he confirmed that the owner of the house truly owned the Jade Dragon. And that the doppelganger was connected with the owner.

As he approached the front porch, an old woman hobbled up. She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw him, standing before her. "Enishi-sama. It has been a long time. You have returned for the statue?"

"Kitano Kaoru?" Ban asked.

She rubbed her eyes, and looked at him one more time. She bravely bowed to the younger man, but he could tell that his presence was startling to her.

"My name is Midou Ban. I'm not a ghost, if that's what you're thinking, obaa-san," he took a cigarette and the lighter.

"Obaa-san! Be careful!" the young man ran and pleaded behind him. Ban gave him a glaring sideglance, which sufficiently froze his pleas.

"The resemblance is uncanny," was all the grandmother said. "It's true, what they said."

"Yukishiro Enishi? I guess." He began, "Did he have magic powers of any kind? Spell-casting, unnatural strength?"

"My grandfather did not think so, and Enishi-sama did not admit to any," she answered.

"Does he have witch blood?"

"No, sir," she kneeled before him on the porch. "Samurai ancestry."

"Have there been reports of him creating nightmares on other people, just by looking at them?"

Clearly the old woman did not understand what he asked. "So………where……..why………how………" he faltered, the lighter wobbling as he tried to align it with the cigarette. Mrs. Kitano gestured to the porch, and Ban sat down beside her. He raised the lighter to his eyes, and looked intently at the initials. "What do you know that I don't, Yamato?" he muttered.

As he sparked the lighter again, the old woman faced him. "This possible relationship to Enishi-sama worries you. Why?"

He puffed out a long stream of smoke, then spoke. "What I know about myself, other people have told me. I barely saw my mother, I've never seen my father. I grew up with people who aren't my relatives. But they all tell me that the power I have was either inherited or given to me by one of my parents. They all fear me because of it. So maybe I just want to know, how did my parents get it? Through him, this Enishi-sama person? Am I related to that guy? Did he have the curse, too? Did I get the curse from the White Tiger?" He could not believe he said all that to a granny he had just met.

"But that is not what you really want to know, Midou-san," she said gently. "Am I right?"

He harrumphed, and looked up at the dark sky, filled with stars.

"I just want to know………who am I?"

Yeah, that was what he really wanted to know. The B in the GB. A piece of the puzzle. A wizard with untapped potential. But was that all he was?

Mrs. Kitano patted the arm closest to her. "You do not need me to tell you who you are, Midou-san. You do not need anyone to tell you."

"Easy for you to say……" he murmured.

She smiled. "The past, yours and those of others, do not dictate your present. Use what you know and what you have from the past, but never let it hold you down."

"You got that from the White Tiger?" he asked.

"No, my dear. From the Red Dragon. My grandfather."

"Say what?" He mentally hit his head. The Red Dragon was not a dragon, like the White Tiger was not a real tiger.

The old woman chuckled. "Your blonde friend. He will tell you the story someday."

He stood up, and crushed the cigarette with his foot. "Not the best way to get a story." He sighed. "By the way, how did you know?"

"He never talked about you like an enemy. More like a friend he wants to apologize to."

Ban shook his head. "That guy doesn't have to apologize for anything." He gave a short bow, and turned his back.

He stopped where the young man stood, still shaking somewhat, a few feet away. "Not a word to Amano Ginji, understood?" The young man nervously nodded.

He got himself out the gate and back into the limousine. He told the driver to go back to the hotel.

It was the saddest thing. He already was living the way he wanted to live, not letting the past hold him down, keeping it at the far back of his head. Now he found himself worrying about it endlessly, wondering if he had been deceiving himself after all, if the past really held his future.

Wondering if finding himself was better than losing his friend. The only person who seemed to understand him, really.

It was only when the car had almost reached the hotel that he remembered. He forgot to ask about the Jade Dragon.

He will not let that lapse of judgment faze him. He would go up to the hotel, and not worry about it. He would explain that the old woman would not talk. That was all. There were other ways, other times, to get that information. Of course he knew it had to be soon. As he opened the door to his fancy suite, he had decided. He would just go to bed. Not think about Yukishiro. Not think about himself. Not think about Ginji.

Wait. Something was very different with the suite.

He fired up all the light switches. He eventually noticed the gaping space above the small marble table, at the center of the main room. He made a quick survey by walking a tight circle.

The Jade Dragon was gone.

There was no trace of who might have stolen the statue from his room. Everything was as he had left it. The robbers were very good, well organized. But he did not know of any other group that knew the statue in his suite was the Jade Dragon. None……except……

He called security to ask if anyone had gone to the floor of his suite. This was confirmed. He went down to their office and asked them to rewind the security video of the last few hours.

A young couple and their two porters had been seen walking the hallway of the floor, carrying a large suitcase in and out with a trolley. The faces of the two porters were hidden under caps. But Ban could recognize the girl's bright eyes and long ponytail anywhere. And of course, he knew what the annoying animal trainer looked like, even in different clothes.

"And you let them through!" he shouted.

"We thought they were just tourists, who got off the wrong floor."

Ban did not even have to ask where the suspects got a key. The newer, card-key hotel doors were actually more vulnerable to Ginji's capabilities.

"Always ruining my plans…" he sighed and took out lighter and cigarette again. "Always."

Now he had to work around it. As always.

…………………………………………

"Lapse of judgment". Hay, grabe. New national catch-phrase. I hate politics. Ignore this if you don't understand. I apologize about Kadzuki being mistaken yet again for a girl. 8 )

Do you guys here have any suggestions on how a late 19th-century Japanese guy should give a knock-your-socks off marriage proposal? That's what's delaying Jiro Came to Town right now: I'm totally blocked on how to write a good proposal. It would've been easier to think for Soujirou, but it's Yahiko doing the proposing. Thanks for any help.

This is the first time in my fanfic writing that I can feel the incredible pressure to do well in a fic. Especially, since it comes from good writers, or people who seem to expect a lot. It makes me panic, and I'm getting dreadfully worried about planning what should happen next without having a _deus ex machina_. Ayayaya. These two guys. I never thought they'd give me so much of a headache.

**JML – **Hey, long time no see! I do know that Natsumi takes a lot from Kaoru, Ginji is something like Kenshin, and Shido has a lot from Sano. And of course, Ban is an Enishi clone. Actually much of the Mugenjou arc is similar to the Kyoto arc's pacing. Thanks much for reading this and for the compliment.

**Tenshi-sama – **As per request. Thank you so much liking the story that much! I can't believe it!

**Junyortrakr – **I hope this chapter answers your question. Thanks for still reading.

**Sailor-stardestroyer13 – **Sorry if you got confused. I'll try to make things clearer in the next chapters.

Atropos' Knife – Thanks for the compliments. Let the fangirls throw the bricks, it doesn't matter to me. Thanks for reminding me about the value of the statue. Yeah, I should be thinking about that, really….. Daemonchan – Thanks for waiting. Do read and/or watch RK! You'll find that plenty of the anime and manga made after 1998 have inspirations taken from it. GetBackers is actually a mix of RK-inspired characters and plot development, Weiss Kreuz-inspired characters, and some original ideas. As often mentioned in this story, Ban is closely taken from Enishi both in looks and character. 


	10. Chapter 10: blank

Still more interesting material is coming out of the GB manga, changing how we all think of our favorite people. All the most powerful versions of our guys are starting to be shown. Unfortunately GB is not getting any easier to comprehend. All the stuff coming out really makes me hope someone at Studio Pierrot is thinking of doing a second round of GB. It's not a far stretch, considering that there are plenty of sequels being made nowadays.

Sorry for the very long delay. Horrible story block. To those who read Acid Dream, thank you very much. Chatty chapter, sorry.

………………….

He could not think.

Strange, really. How blocked he was just then, thinking of how to work around what his partner had done. Maybe his friend's random, useless suggestions actually made him think. And, to give the blonde, blundering, exasperating irritation some credit, many of his suggestions were actually worth something. So not having them at all, and finding that his friend was getting along fine without him…….made him feel odd.

Maybe it was the feeling of no longer being needed, by anyone. He would have actually liked that a few years ago. Nobody needed him, thus he was tied to nobody. But with Himiko being alright on her own, and now Ginji capable enough to not need him...he could disappear, and no one would know.

He could disappear, none the wiser about who he really was.

He went to the large bedroom mirror and just faced himself.

"You don't need friends, sir," a voice said.

He looked around. "Who said that?"

"Over here."

He looked around again, walked around the large room and all its smaller rooms, as well as out at the balcony. He still found no one, not even hiding behind anything. He finally walked back to the large bedroom mirror. He just saw himself.

Well, not exactly. The man in the mirror was him, but not him. The one in the mirror had white hair, and a white Chinese suit.

"Finally." The man gave a smirk.

Ban lowered his glasses to get a closer look, and blinked several times. The image smartly lowered his own dark spectacles. And he spoke again. "That thing you call friendship – it will delay you, bring you down. What you need are alliances…..but not friends."

"So what's new?" Ban challenged.

"And you need a reason to keep working for a goal. Revenge, sir. One of the best driving forces in the human soul."

Ban just smirked at his doppelganger in the mirror.

"Why the smirk?" the image asked. "You do have reasons to seek revenge, yes? People have wronged you, people have killed those you loved."

"You don't understand. Among other things, it is I who have killed someone others have loved." His mind when back to that scene, his bloody hands, and his friend sprawled on the wall under a window.

"It was one of the means to an end, yes? A way to avenge what people have done to you. Parents who deserted you. So-called friends who abandoned you."

The man had a point. But as Ban looked up at his image from at least a century ago in the mirror, he noted a tinge of regret.

He had to ask. "You keep talking about revenge. You lived your live for revenge. ...Are you any better for it?"

The image kept looking at him, and chuckled sadly.

"All those years with the organization, driven to end the flame in that red dragon? Frankly…I was miserable." The image cocked up his dark purple glasses. "It was annoying to me, to see how the world moved on, how HE moved on……when I couldn't. Don't you agree, you who look so much like me?"

Ban had to look away for a few seconds. It was true. For years he had harbored anger against people in his life. And yet, there were days he failed to see the point in that anger. Those were the days he finished a whole cigarette pack in an hour.

"I actually envy you, sir," the image cocked up his glasses, and gave another sad smile. "I was feared, as you are. But I was never trusted."

"Come again?" he interrupted.

"Your minute is over."

The glass of the mirror shattered.

Ban stumbled and fell to the floor, trying to avoid the broken pieces. But when he looked again, the mirror was completely fine.

He needed to sleep, REALLY sleep. This way of dreaming while awake, was horrible.

He washed his face, forcing himself not to look at the bathroom mirror as he did at the one in the bedroom. He then went out to the balcony, and tried to think over what he should do.

Normally a stick or two got him going well enough to think over the movements of several hours. But tonight, as he paced the living room, sat on the sofa, and paced again, and sat again, nothing was making him think.

The Jade Dragon was stolen. Ginji and his friends stole it. Being Ginji, he would probably keep it close to him, then maybe give it back to the rightful owner, Kitano Kaoru and her grandson, without getting a cent out of them. That much was obvious. But how would he explain that to their original client, Chan Feilong? When Chan finds out, what would he do, not much to himself, but to Ginji? Does Chan even need to know about this? What is this was just a normal robbery to him, one he did not need to tell Chan about? Should he play up being the White Tiger, or drop everything now and be Ban of the GetBackers? What should he do?

No ideas were coming to mind.

He sighed...and used up his trump card. He took up his cellular phone, and dialed.

It was answered quickly. "Hey, Ban-chan."

He did not know how he felt, and how to answer. "Hey." He did not know what else to say, and left dead air for half a minute.

The other end of the line therefore asked, "What do I do now?"

"Whatever you want." He said it in a monotone. He had no will left for emphatics.

"WHAT! You gotta be kidding, Ban-chan!"

"You heard me. And hey….."

"Yeah?"

"Good job."

"Um, thanks."

He ended the call.

He knew it was crazy, leaving it all to his partner. The dunderhead could not even plan out his lunch without him. But he could not think anymore. He no longer knew what to do. He had no other option left but this.

Ginji can handle this. Somehow.

He gave a final sigh of relief, closed his eyes, his head leaned on the sofa's armrest. His arm dropped down, and he dropped the cellular phone onto the carpet.

And he began to sleep the dreamless slumber of the weary.

……………………………

A call came through to his suite. He groaned, and fumbled for the phone.

The message was straight to the point. "Emergency meeting. Assembly in half an hour. Usual place."

He sat up and groaned again. "What time is it already?"

Almost half past 1 in the morning, by his watch. He swore against the lateness of the hour, as he headed to the bathroom.

He managed to reach the warehouse in the allotted half-hour, hair still wet from the shower, and rather flat around his head. He slumped onto one of the large leather arm chairs. Chan was already seated at the head of the board table.

"Your place is now secure, White Tiger," the wiry man told the younger one. "If you want it."

"I've already told you," Ban ran a hand through his hair. "I won't be anyone's puppet."

"Who said you would be a puppet, sir?" the older man placed both elbows on the table, and leaned his head on his hands. "Think it over tonight."

Chan could say nothing more about it, as the other board members began to file into the large room, and the assistants lined up behind their masters.

Ban did notice that many of the older members had some inkling of the agenda. They began to give him odd side-glances and stares. He raised his glasses over his eyes, and kept looking down at his lighter, trying to avoid their stares.

The man at the head of the table stood, and addressed the board. "We have good news, gentlemen," Chan told the assembled group. "The genuine Jade Dragon has been found."

It was as Ban thought. The claps among the elders were half-hearted, the more fervent ones coming from the younger members.

"Of course, we have to see the statue for ourselves first, before we pass judgment on our newest member," the man faced Ban and gave a slight knowing smile. He motioned to a man behind him. "Send her in, please."

The assistant walked to the door, and opened it. In walked a beautiful, voluptuous woman with blonde hair. She wore a dark blazer over a silk blouse that showed a portion of her best assests. Her smooth, long legs were covered mid-thigh by an elegant A-line skirt.

"Gentlemen, this is Hevn, business manager for the GetBackers," the wiry man introduced the woman. He came only up to her shoulders.

Ban gave her just a slight smirk of recognition. She returned a little smile. She gave Chan two pictures of the statue, as preliminary proof. These were passed around the table. She did not wait for further introductions, and got to the point.

"The retriever will give you the statue on one condition, besides the payment," Hevn said.

Chan raised an eyebrow. "What is the condition?"

Hevn walked over to the table, swinging her hips and tossing her hair. She walked a semi-circle around the board members, and stopped where Ban was seated. "He requests that any plans against the Kitano household be stopped."

Chan nodded. "Done." He waved to a man behind him then whispered a few words. The man nodded, and started a call. "Will there be anything else?"

"There is one thing else." Hevn approached Chan. "Direct exchange will be done in the presence of the White Tiger. He will be the one to hand over the reward." She did not hide it that she knew the other half of the GetBackers.

Ban just smirked. It was trademark Ginji. The wiry man would see through THAT. Hevn was humoring the sparker.

Chan gave a sinister smile. "Why not? It will be as the retriever requests. In the presence of the White Tiger it is. But you do understand, my beautiful negotiator, I am the one to hand over the money."

If it was Ginji's idea that Ban would be allowed to hold the money, and thus run with it, that was easily seen and stopped. Ban cocked up his glasses. "Fair enough."

"Good, it is arranged, then," Chan said. "I and Midou-han meet with you and Amano-han tomorrow. Here. 8 pm."

"Agreed." She passed Ban's seat and caressed the White Tiger by the chin. "See you tomorrow, good-looking."

Ban swore under his breath. That was just plain corny.

"The meeting is adjourned."

The middle-aged and elderly men of the board shuffled out of the large room. Ban left, somewhere in the middle of the pack, his hands in his pockets.

He went straight out, and into a shadowy part of the warehouse. Where Hevn was waiting for him, as he expected.

"Let me make this clear. I am the business manager."

"I thought you quit," she retorted.

He ignored the comment. " 'Good-looking'? So NOT you, woman."

"I was nervous in there!" she pouted and folded her arms.

"Anything else you should be telling me?" he took out a cigarette and the lighter.

"The statue is at the Kitano house. That's all Ginji allowed me to tell you, when I left."

"His plan is too obvious." He puffed out a long stream of smoke.

She hmphed. "You have any better ideas?"

"Nope."

He could almost see the negotiator's raised eyebrows in the dark. "Mr. Idea Man is blank? What's wrong with you, Ban?"

He inhaled long and deep, and slowly let out the smoke. "Get me outta here."

He flicked what was left of the cigarette onto the street, and walked away.

……………………….

Originally I had plans to include a little scene at the Honky Tonk with this, but it didn't seem appropriate as the chapter developed, so it was deleted. Also, I am not absolutely sure if the Jagan can be used on the spellcaster. Sorry this chapter is short. I'm still a bit blank, so any suggestions are gratefully accepted.

Around the time I introduced Monsieur Thread Master into this story, I was still confused whether which romanization was correct. Eventually I found out just "z" is the most correct, but having "dz" is not exactly wrong either. Since I started using it that way, though, I figured I should be consistent with it until I am through. I apologize for the mistake.

**Junyortrakr – **Yeah, it was an easy heist. I don't know if I should say sorry for that, though. **JML – **Explanation above. What chaos are you talking about? **Sailor-stardestroyer13** – Thank you. Like the anime? No way, but thanks for thinking it is. **Taiy-chan** – Thanks much. Hope you're doing okay. **Atropos' Knife** -- Thanks for that bit about the paternal grandmother, I KNEW I was forgetting something again. Why I manage to forget crucial aspects when I need them most (like that sea-urchin mistake) I don't understand. I agree with you, it's not about the money, really, it's getting to the bottom of things that attracts Ban to most cases. As for the RK fic, I've thought about doing a tea ceremony, but a quick research on it told me I can't handle it. **Tenshi-sama – **Hello, kabayan! (Seriously, I've been greeting Rabid Lola as a kabayan, you didn't notice?) The friendship isn't thrown out the window; I'm getting to it. Thank you for liking it so far. I was seriously wondering once where I could put "Hello, Garci?" in the narrative, but that's a big stretch. **The Sinner of Anger – **I do plan out the basic run of my story, but I sometimes find myself clueless while writing each chapter, and sometimes I find myself changing plans mid-story.


	11. Chapter 11: illusion

Hello. Sorry it took such a long while. Besides having schoolwork to think about, I got creeped out by the hit counter. I don't even have an idea how you guys managed to find out about this story. Believe it or not, Eyes of the Tiger has the greatest number of hits of everything I've written, even the RK fics (sigh). Considering I'm a regular at the RK section and just pretty much a visitor to the GB section, THAT is really weird. Thanks to everybody who does read this, whether you review or not (although I would like it if you review!).

The story finally settled during a boring lecture. On with the story. Argh, such troublesome subject-pronoun agreement! Too much talking! Too many pronouns! Yare-yare….

………………………………………….

Ban did not leave his suite that whole day.

He felt it. That day was the last he would have in that room. It was a great life, and he would miss it. But that was not his kind of life. Living in a gilded cage was not his idea of living. But, all the same. He hated to give up that soft bed, those fluffy pillows, and the impeccable room service.

As he relished the simple but opulent breakfast facing the view of the city outside, the cleaning lady entered with a trolley full of rags and various tools.

He greeted her as she made up the bed. "Hey, 'ba-chan. This is my last day. I won't be seeing you again."

"You will be missed, young sir," the cleaning lady bowed to him. "You didn't leave a lot of cigarette ash around, you have no idea how helpful that is to us."

He smirked. "I do have a question. Why didn't you tell them? Chan and the other guys. About the Jade Dragon?"

The middle-aged lady smiled, and walked him out to the balcony, where there were no hidden microphones. "I used to clean house for Kitano Kaoru-san, and I knew about the sale, for Kenji's sake. I was the one who made sure this hotel bought it, and I've been taking care of it ever since. They know about this dragon, and they've always wondered if that is THE one they were after. That's one of the reasons you were made to come here – to confirm the identity of the statue." She looked wistfully at the marble center table, without the prominent green statue.

Not bad for a cleaning lady, Ban tsked. "It's back at the old lady's house, I've been told."

Much relief swept over the cleaning lady. She finally took one of his hands, and patted it. "You're still very young. Live long and well."

Live long? He chuckled. That won't happen. Not with the way he smoked like there was no tomorrow, even he knew that. But he planned to live well.

He silently continued with his breakfast, as she silently continued with her cleaning.

…………………………………………

8:00 pm. A large warehouse in the midst of the city.

The members of the board slowly shuffled into the warehouse, and sat at a long table prepared for the purpose. Ban also went in with this group, followed by Chan and a few of his assistants.

Ban flopped onto the seat farthest from the center, but the wiry small man went to him, and offered the center seat. He shrugged, and went. Chan sat down beside him.

"Send her in please," the little man said.

The beautiful blonde young woman from the midnight meeting entered first, in a black ensemble that reached up to mid-thigh. Behind her was a young man, also with blonde hair, in a blue suit over a tie-less shirt. He pushed a cart in front of him, with a wooden crate placed above it.

It had been weeks since Ban had last seen Amano Ginji, aside from that camera shot from a few days back. It had been months since he had seen Ginji in anything but khaki shorts, white shirt and green vest. It had been years since they had met and fought, the infamous Raitei wearing a blue shirt jacket.

It brought back memories of a promise.

Hevn sat on a chair placed behind a small table, facing the assembled group of middle-aged to old men. Ginji stopped the cart beside her. Quietly, he lowered the crate onto the floor, and lifted off the top and sides.

The beauty of the Jade Dragon manifested itself to the group, who could not help but stand and walk to where it was placed. They looked over the statue from top to bottom, gushing about the quality of the stone used and the craftsmanship of its maker, even the beautiful calligraphy at the base.

Ban tried to look unaffected, yet his eyes betrayed his panic, as he glared menacingly at the negotiator and the retriever. But Ban took another long look at the statue, and its details. He stopped glaring at Hevn and Ginji, and smirked.

"A deal is a deal, Mr. Chan," Hevn reminded.

"And we are ready with your payment," Chan did not skip a beat. He snapped for an assistant, who opened a door and let in another man with a suitcase. "May I remind my constituents that we have been successful in getting this much money, thanks to the efforts of our newest member." The members murmured and whispered among themselves, and looked at Ban.

The suitcase was opened, and revealed to be full of stacks of dollar bills. Hevn took up one stack and inspected it. It was not padded and not forged. The gleam in her eyes increased as she checked and every stack, and confirmed that they had been paid the full amount. She told the assistant she was satisfied. The assistant closed the suitcase, and presented it to the young woman. She accepted it with a bright smile and sweaty hands.

The wiry man returned to his place beside Ban, patted him on the shoulder, and faced him. "So, Midou-han, have you considered? What I told you?"

Ban lowered his glasses and looked at the man squarely. "Thanks for the great times here. But you don't have pizza. That ticks me off. Once the Jade Dragon is given to you, I'm gone. I don't care what you do to me."

"And Amano-han?" Chan hissed.

"You know what I learned last night about Ginji? He's a big boy. He can take care of himself. So don't threaten me about killing him, ever again." Ban cocked back his glasses over his eyes, and pocketed his hands.

"Thank you for your honesty, Midou-han," Chan gave him a very sly smile, as he drew out a dart gun. "Of course, as I have said, I will have to keep you quiet."

He fired a shot, and sent a dart straight into Ban's neck, before he could react. He pointed the gun at the blonde young man, preventing him and the woman from coming closer, as Ban dropped onto the table. He approached the statue again, and ran his fingers across the base.

" 'The eyes of the tiger and drawn to the heart of the dragon.' " he read aloud. "The words I have been searching for, all my life! The clues to a treasure!"

"They are words that mean absolutely nothing to you," a young but authoritative voice spoke behind him.

Chan looked, and found a young man in a white Chinese jacket, with white tousled hair and dark violet spectacles. Slung on the figure's back was the scabbard of a large Chinese sword. He was not sure if his eyes were fooling him or not, but he had seen that man in the archives many, many times. He dropped the gun in his shock. "The…..the……the White Tiger!"

"Tell them, Chan." The figure smirked and placed his spectacles firmly over his eyes.

He kept silent. He finally knew where the last unknown secret vein of jadeite could be found. There were actual towns in China with such names. He just to go to them, and find them. He did not have to tell the members of the board. That secret vein would be his to know, and he would become rich, very rich! He did not need Midou-han anymore, he did not need the rest of the organization! He grinned like a fox back at the young figure facing him. He finally had the clue to a century-old secret.

But the figure smirked back at him. "There is no secret vein, you fool. This statue comes from the Silk Road, like every other genuine piece. Given to me, in exchange for weapons. Now, tell them."

The wiry little man's jaw dropped.

The figure approached ever closer, his piercing eyes kept on the section head. The figure pushed him to the wall, and pinned him with a terrible grip. "You will tell them and keep your life, or I will end it here." He began to squeeze, and count in Chinese: one, two, three….

"You would have done the same!" Chan squealed out in panic. "Used the newcomer's potential, made the organization respect him – and me in the process, then killed him when he got too cocky. You would kill the others off, and get their holdings, too!"

The figure shook his head. "That's typical. Very typical. Very predictable. Indeed, I might have done that. But with more class." He released the grip, took the sword on his back, and pointed it at the smaller man.

Chan looked at the figure, aghast. "But I--"

"Try again when you have better ideas, you bastard. That's why you'll never take my place. That's why no one ever will."

"But, White Tiger, sir!"

"The game is up, Chan Feilong. Your minute is over."

A flash of light blinded him temporarily, and he rubbed his eyes to get his sight back. But as soon as he could see again, Chan saw that the White Tiger was gone, and he found himself surrounded by the members of the board, all glaring at him.

"So that is what you planned to do," one of the elder members said.

"Now, now, let me explain……." Chan began to sweat.

"No explanations are needed. The White Tiger has spoken for all of us. We thank you for introducing him to us, because we have seen how he works and how he thinks. But we do not need his presence to run the organization his way. Definitely, we do not need him to pass judgment on you."

"You don't understand!"

The elder put it to the vote. It was unanimous. Removal of all rights, privileges, and holdings. Deportation to the most obscure section of the organization, within 24 hours.

Chan Feilong was carried out of the assembly, cursing reincarnations, and shouting orders of "shoot to kill".

Midou Ban, Amano Ginji, and Hevn were gone.

…………………………………………

So, what really happened?

The negotiation did happen, of course. The exchange of the suitcase and the statue did occur. But what Chan remembered, after that short conversation with Ban, was different from what everyone else saw.

The assembled group saw Chan Feilong fall into a trance, staring straight at Midou Ban, as Ban approached slowly and forced Chan to the wall. They heard Ban say, "Tell them, Chan." They saw him pin Chan to the wall with the Snake Bite, then say "You will tell them and keep your life, or I will end it here." The group heard Chan give the quick rundown of his plans, making some of them look at him with anger. Ban finally released him, still in a trance.

"It was great knowing you all," Ban bowed to the other board members, "but I and this blonde fool are the GetBackers. Remember us if you need anything retrieved."

Then he, Ginji, and Hevn made a quick exit, taking the suitcase with them and leaving the large green statue behind. They calmly walked out of the warehouse, into the parking lot of the large area. As the negotiation had been completed, they were not stopped.

Hevn briskly walked ahead of the two men with her, flipping open her cellular phone and talking to the Transporter. In one hand she kept the suitcase, rather anxious that either one of the GetBackers might get the cash in trouble.

The two young men kept walking, side by side, not looking at each other, both stealing side-glances at the other, checking on the other's face.

They got out of immediate earshot of the organization heads. Finally the dark-haired one spoke up. "Where is it, genius?"

"Where is what?" Ginji asked back, eyes straight at the van.

"The real one. The real Jade Dragon."

"Ah, so you noticed?" Ginji looked at Ban, and grinned happily.

Ban still did not look at him as he kept walking. "The green thing was my centerpiece for weeks, of COURSE I would notice. There's a glow and jade-ness to my statue that isn't in yours. And some of the details in your dragon are missing. So where is it?"

"Still at the Kitano house, where it belongs."

Ban whacked his partner on the head. "You ninny, that's the first place Chan would go look when he finds out he's been tricked."

"I asked Kadzuki-san and Shido-san to stay with them, just in case," the partner rubbed his head and cowered a bit.

"It's not that simple, dunderhead!" Another whack. "And where did you get that copy you gave Chan?"

Ginji smiled, and pulled out a small clipping from the society section of yesterday's newspaper.

"_The National Museum ends its exhibit of jade statues and jewelry tomorrow. The National Museum thanks those who have lent their collections for the exhibit, as well as the many visitors……" _

"Miss Clayman was nice enough to let us have the replica," the blonde young man explained. "She knows people who know people who know people…."

"For FREE?" Ban found that hard to believe.

"For a quarter what we get out of Chan Feilong, sorry," Ginji explained. "But that was the best Hevn could do. Besides, Miss Clayman had to get somebody to fix up the base, so it can have the Chinese characters."

"That figures….." Ban sighed.

"So, did I do good?"

Ban raised his head as he kept walking, then rolled his eyes. "Not bad."

"Couldn't you be nicer than that?" Ginji pouted and sniffed.

Ban had no time to answer, as shots suddenly rang out through the parking lot.

"GET DOWN!"

Ban grabbed Ginji by the vest and threw him down onto the floor, as more shots were heard.

But Ginji quickly stood up again, and charged. Ran forward and sparked, both. He ran around and sparked all visible guards with guns, keeping as many as he can from firing again at him or his partner. That settled, he ran back to his partner, getting up from the ground, slightly in pain. He found his partner hit by a few darts, a lot like the ones he saw hit Kadzuki before.

"You okay?" Ginji asked as he made a very slight charge to numb the skin and pulled out two darts on an arm.

"Yeah," Ban blew on the small wounds. "Thanks." He pulled out another one on his leg, but began to breathe slowly and deeply.

Ginji suddenly lit up and wrapped himself around him. "Ban-chan, Ban-chan, Ban-chan! I missed you so much, Ban-chan! It was so so hard to think without you, you know! Ban-chan, Ban-chan! I'm glad you're back, Ban-chan!"

But Ban pried himself loose and knuckled Ginji – but weakly. "You'll squeeze the life out of me…..if the poiso--(cough, cough, cough)……" He dropped on one knee.

"You sure you're okay, Ban-chan?" the blonde young man asked like a 6-year-old would.

"Stop asking and keep going, or more of those lackeys will get us," the dark-haired partner ordered in between deep breaths. He stood up slowly and dragged his feet closer to the van.

Ginji nodded and ran on slightly ahead. He waved to the Transporter, and opened the hatch for the back of the van. He waved happily at Ban to hurry up.

But as Ban passed the driver's seat of the van, he dropped a small something into the Transporter's lap, and went on without saying anything. Ginji looked back at Himiko, and saw her hold up Ban's lighter with a puzzled look. Ban followed Ginji inside the back of the van, teeth clenched and face dotted with sweat. He suddenly took off the purple-tinted glasses and handed them to Ginji. Ginji looked down at the glasses, and back at his partner.

The glasses and the lighter. Those were the only things Ban owned that he would not part with.

"Ban-san!" Natsumi greeted from a little deeper inside the van. Beside her were Hevn and Paul.

"Natsumi…" he panted for a while, and smiled sadly at the girl. "Natsumi…really sorry I yelled at you…." And panted again.

"No worries, Ban…san?" she said.

She waved to Ginji, and pointed at Ban, making Ginji take a good look. His partner was very pale, desperately catching his breath, and desperately forcing a smile back at Natsumi. Ginji grabbed for a flashlight and shined it over his partner. That was when he saw it. One small dart was still there, at the side of the neck, hidden under the messy hair.

Ban had been hit a total of 4 times. There was no antidote in sight.

"Hey, Natsumi…." He said, still breathing hard. "Someday…..someday…..I'll beat you at table tennis…..okay?..." He looked at Hevn. "I'll always be the manager……capiche?" Then Paul. "Thanks for……looking after….that dunder…..head….."

Finally, Ban faced the blonde young man beside him. "Gi….Ginji…I……couldn't keep……my promise……."

And he fell to the floor.

………………………………………….

Argh. In almost every other sentence I kept asking which "he" or "him" referred to which person, if each "he" or "him" would be understood. Terrible, terrible! Such is why the last section mostly has Ban, Ginji, Ban, Ginji, Ban, Ginji, because using the pronouns would be confusing. Ay, caramba!

If it helps any, may I remind that this is a story in between where the anime ends and the manga-only material begins. So, since the Lost Time arc still happens (and boy such awesome things are still happening in this arc), I suppose you can guess from there. Furthermore, I am an RK fan, and I live by Kenshin's oath in my writing (ne, JML, junyortrakr?). As you can probably see, the story is starting to wind down. I originally planned for 10 chapters, but it got just a bit longer.

For those of you in the States, I understand that the Rurouni Kenshin manga volume 18 has already been released by Tokyopop. Go get it, so you can have a little idea who Enishi is (although, at volume 18, it's still pretty much the tip of the iceberg) and what he looks like. You'll see what I mean when I say that the anime Ban is a doppelganger, and the manga Ban is heavily based on him.

**Taiy-chan – **Hope you're doing well in school. **Atropos' Knife –**Yeah, I liked the hospital filler ep a lot, too. Ah, request, request! A little review of "Tenshi" (it's in the story list), if you don't mind, grazie! **JML – **Thanks for explaining. But I probably won't send a lot of chaos. **Tenshi-sama – **I like Kitchie Nadal's voice and songs, and the fact that she doesn't force herself to do things that she can't, like reach high notes. **Junyortrakr – **Sorry if it's simple. I'm not a gangster story or a detective story writer. Jiro Came to Town is still going nowhere, because I realized that I painted myself into a corner. I don't know how Jiro-kun should react to the engagement, if he should react at all, and what he would do, then incidentally how everyone else will react. While I do have some ideas, they're pretty common I think, and I'm not very satisfied with them. **Laily – **Thanks for liking. Hope you're still seated.


	12. Chapter 12: fate

And so, it ends here. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for all the support and encouragement. I still couldn't believe all my good fortune while making this story. I learned a lot about GetBackers in the process of making this, and I do hope to get the chance to see the Voodoo Children and Lost Time arcs animated. (And Paul-sama, oh, my golly, Paul-sama and der Kaiser! I want to see Paul-sama animated and doing such cool stuff!)

Thanks for reading until here. Hope you like. Long final chapter.

………………………………………

The Transporter could not help but look to the back of the van, as she heard a heavy thud. "WHAT THE--"

"Get us out of here, Himiko!" Hevn ordered.

The driver did not have to be told twice, and stepped on the gas. "Where?"

"Hospital," Paul said, switching on the van's inside lighting, checking the man on the van's steel floor here and there. "Natsumi, do you have it? That little box I gave you?"

The girl placed her backpack in front of her. "Yes, sir."

She fished out the box from the backpack, pressed on a few buttons, and opened the black little case. She found two small vials of a clear liquid, and a device she sometimes saw doctors use for immunizations, with a trigger and a place to load a vial.

"Now listen carefully, Natsumi," Paul said, as he tore off the left sleeve. "Hold the vial firmly, and load it onto the back of the thing. It should click if you got it right."

As the van rumbled and bumped, Natsumi bit her lip and aligned a shaking vial to the device. She carefully but quickly twisted the vial, until she heard the click. She immediately handed it over to her boss.

Paul placed the device on Ban's left shoulder, and pressed the trigger, watching the fluid disappear out of the vial. When the vial emptied, he pulled out the vial, and gave the device back to Natsumi. "The second one." She loaded the second vial as fast as she carefully could, and gave it back. Paul emptied that vial onto the left shoulder as well. He pulled the device off, and sighed with relief, wiping off the sweat with his bandana.

Total elapsed time: 2 minutes.

"I was right to hire you," Paul patted his assistant. She scratched her head in embarassment.

Their patient was still unconscious, and nothing had changed in how he looked.

"We'll soon be at the hospital, guys," the Transporter called out from the driver's seat. "How is he?"

"He'll make it," Hevn reported back. "But we're not out of the woods yet."

The Transporter made a little sigh as she quickly looked to the back of the van. She faced the road again but called out, "How's Ginji?"

The three at the back of the van had fogotten all about him in the general panic, and now all three looked at him.

He had shut down. The poor boy kept a blank, empty stare at the unfolding events. "No…" was all he could mutter, as the van rolled on at illegal speeds.

"Ginji, he'll be fine!" Paul shouted back to him.

"But…. I just…I just…"

Hevn had to come closer and shake him a bit. She made him look at her. "Listen to me, Gin-chan….Ban. Will be. Fine. Thanks to Natsumi and Paul, he'll be fine. Understand?"

He did not.

"Let me try, Hevn-san," Natsumi said as she gently moved her way to the end of the van.

She sat beside the dazed Ginji, and just held his hand. "We both know he's tougher than that, Ginji-san. He'll make it. Okay?"

He gave her hand a little squeeze.

They dispersed when they reached the emergency room. Paul gave quick explanations as their patient was wheeled off. Hevn went in another direction to handle the needed paperwork. The Transporter drove off to park the van. Natsumi walked into the lobby, holding Ginji's hand.

He remained stunned and silent as the minutes moved on….as Paul came to them after 2 hours and said his friend was alright….as Paul walked with the two of them up to a room.

His friend looked asleep on the hospital bed, nothing attached to him aside from a little device on a finger. The device led to a small machine that regularly checked heart rate, blood pressure and blood oxygen levels.

Paul explained. Ban would be made to stay until he woke up, to make sure there would be no complications. The two doses of antidote had been sufficient to neutralize the deadly effects of the poison, but as with Ginji and Kadzuki previously, it made him unconscious for a prolonged period. Furthermore, since Ban smoked like a chimney, the antidote took longer to work its way through his system, and what remained of the poison took longer to clear.

Ginji sighed, shook his head at his friend, but still said nothing.

"But his being alive at all is because of Natsumi," Paul continued. "She was a good girl and brought it, like I told her. I got the antidote for your sake, just in case you got into a scrape again, but things turned out differently."

Paul gave a few final words of assurance that the worst was over. He left them to call Himiko for a ride home for himself and Natsumi, and find Hevn.

Natsumi and Ginji stayed in the room, just 3 inches between them, seated side by side on two chairs. He kept his eyes either at the floor or at the door. He could not look at his friend for long, just stole glances at him and at the beeping contraption beside him.

"I've gotten him in trouble again," he finally spoke, his eyes on the floor. "It's always like this."

"But we've told you, Ginji-san, he'll be alright," Natsumi softly told him.

"For how many more times?" he sighed.

She had nothing to say.

He turned and looked at her. "By the way, I haven't said this….."

"What, Ginji-san?"

"Thank you."

She smiled. "You're welcome."

…………………………………………

When Natsumi returned to the hospital the next evening, she found Ginji at the elevator lobby. He was still wearing the blue jacket and dark shirt, and his head bobbed up and down as he sat on one of the seats. She tapped him gently on the shoulder, then smiled and waved as he woke up. He gave her a weary smile back, under eyes with dark rings.

"Have you even eaten anything?" she asked with some concern. He looked rather pale.

He shook his head, and turned over his trouser pockets.

She tsked and quickly went to the vending machine for a soda and a packet of biscuits. She returned and presented them to him. He smiled his thanks and gulped them down with a hungry man's instinctive haste. She chuckled as she watched him. "We're going down to the cafeteria later, okay?"

"But what about Ban-chan?" he asked.

"He still hasn't come to?"

He slowly shook his head.

"Oh." Natsumi bowed her head.

But Ginji gave her a happy grin. "But you said he'll be fine, and I believe you." He stood. "I'm going in now, wanna come?"

"I'll wait for Hevn-san, she doesn't know the room," she said.

He nodded and walked back to the room his friend was in. He sighed deeply, took a deep breath, then went in.

He found his friend seated in bed, watching television.

"Ban-chan!" he exclaimed. Ginji ran up to him and looked him all over. "You okay?"

"Looks that way."

Then quite suddenly but silently Ginji wrapped his arms around his friend, and leaned his head on his friend's shoulder.

He did not cry, did not sniffle, did not talk. He did not even glomp or squeeze the life out of his friend. He maintained a firm, secure embrace. As if he wanted to make sure that his friend was there, and his friend was not going anywhere. His friend did not usually return such signs of affection, but this time he patted Ginji's head with one hand, and placed the other arm over his back. It had been a while, indeed.

Ban finally spoke after a few minutes, and gently removed Ginji's arms from around him. "That's enough."

Ginji moved back and bowed his head. "Stop protecting me already, Ban-chan. Not if you keep getting hurt."

Ban spoke in a whisper, and Ginji never heard it. "I have no choice. It's my fate."

Two young women entered the room, one blonde and one black-haired. The blonde taller one immediately approached the bed. "Good, you're awake. I have the receipts, IOUs, and calculation of expenses." She presented a folder to the patient, who took it silently and began to browse through the papers. But she interrupted him by placing a hand over the papers. "Himiko told me to give this back to you." She placed a silver-plated lighter on top of the papers. "Don't give it to her until you mean it."

"But the doctor said……" Natsumi complained.

"If he dies of lung cancer, that's his problem, not mine and not Himiko's," Hevn tossed her head. "That will be all. I await the manager's orders," she ended with heavy sarcasm in her crooning voice.

Ban took up the lighter, peered at it from all sides, flicked it open, and checked if it still lighted. Satisfied, he closed it with a sigh and silently placed it on the little table beside the bed. He resumed reading the papers inside the folder, shook his head at them all, then returned it to her without a word.

"Ban?" Hevn finally broke the silence.

"Nothing changes…." He spoke softly, to himself. "Nothing…."

Ginji said, "Huh?"

"And I have to keep my promise."

"What promise?" Ginji asked.

The two words snapped the dark-haired patient out of his reverie. "Never mind that," he said, and faced the blonde young woman, and glared at her. "What is the meaning of all this?" He threw the folder with all its contents onto the floor. "We only have one thousand American dollars LEFT?"

"But that IS one thousand dollars…." Ginji hid behind a chair.

"Out of a possible two million?"

Natsumi took up the folder, and found Hevn's final tallying of all expenses incurred during the mission.

Organization "expenses":1,000,000

Acquisition and modification of the museum piece: 500,000

Taxes on museum piece: 90,000

Hospital expenses: 6,000

Antidote: 4,000

Security camera scrambler: 3,000

Transistor:3,000

Video recorder: 2,000

Translator:2,000

Transportation expenses:2,000

Current food debt as of : 550

Additional food debt: 450

Labor charges:

Hevn 200,000

Clayman 50,000

Kadzuki 30.000

Shido 30,000

Himiko 30,000

Paul 30,000

MakubeX 10,000

Natsumi 6,000

TOTAL EXPENSES: 1,999,000

Cash inflow: 2,000,000

Current balance: 1,000

"Explain the 'Organization expenses' entry," Ban hissed.

"Look at the letter over there," Hevn said and pointed. "The triad found out we tricked them, but they'll settle with the museum piece, because it's also valuable in its own right. BUT, they want a million back. At best, they say, that piece is only worth 750,000. In exchange, they won't bother us again, and they keep you alive."

"Fine," he grumbled. "MakubeX?"

"Paul told me he got his antidote source and some of his material from the whiz kid."

"How come Paul and Natsumi get paid, too?" the 'manager' asked rather sternly.

"OH, I don't know. Compensation for saving your life?" Hevn answered. Ginji nodded. Natsumi blushed.

"And how come YOU get so much?"

"10 percent commission, remember?" She smiled slyly. "And shall I add charges for psychological damage to Amano Ginji as well?"

"HEVN-SAN!" Ginji protested.

Ban shook his head. "THIS is what happens when I'm not in charge…"

"YOU walked out on us!" Hevn retorted.

"I had no choice, woman!" he shouted back.

As the manager and negotiator kept arguing, Ginji just shrugged his shoulders and grinned at Natsumi.

"Getting Ban-chan back alive and safe and sound: priceless."

Natsumi had to agree, and giggled.

…………………………………….

"_Ban… Do you have the resolve to accept the cruel fated life which is yours?"_

It was his fate, his promise, his detiny.

Maybe that was why he both wanted and did not want to learn about his ancestors. He wanted to know if there was a past he did not know, and thus, a future he did not think possible. He did not want to know if his fate had already been set in the past, even before he was born.

And this case that almost cost him his life……it gave him no answers.

"Ban-chan?" He felt a little tugging at his sleeve. "Wake up, we're here."

He rubbed his eyes, and saw the gate of the Kitano house just beyond the car window.

He had wanted to go to the Kitano house, and Ginji had offered to drive them there. He did not feel up to driving yet, but he wanted to see the Jade Dragon one last time. He wanted to see his doppelganger one last time, then forget about him.

"Ban-chan?" Ginji looked at him with sad eyes, hands on the steering wheel.

"Hm?"

"You still mad at me?"

"For what?"

"For…for…everything…you know…"

He turned his back on Ginji and looked out the window. "No. Happy now?"

"Really? Really really? You sure?"

"Look. If you ask me that question one more time, I will be." He opened the car door, and got off.

Ginji followed suit and knocked on the gate. They were allowed in by Hayashida Kenji, and were welcomed at the porch by Kitano Kaoru and Clayman. The short-haired woman in the gray suit smiled at them slightly as they approached.

"The Jade Dragon is a significant historical piece, beyond its importance to the Chinese triads. It has a history that goes back at least two hundred fifty years. It is one of the few of its size and quality that has remained in its original form until now." Clayman smiled at Ginji. "I am grateful to be involved in this case, Mr. Amano."

"You're worth it, Miss Clayman," he grinned back. "What are your plans?"

"The Jade Dragon will be on extended loan to the museum by Mrs. Kitano," she said. "In that manner, two financial problems will be solved. First, Mrs. Kitano will receive a stipulated amount, taken from the museum's earnings, once every month. She can use that for living expenses. Second, both Mrs. Kitano and Mr. Hayashida have agreed that the amount will be divided in half – until the time that the GetBackers are paid in full."

Ban nodded satisfaction with the arrangement. A regular source of funds for the next few months.

"But, aren't you afraid that it'll be stolen from the museum?" Ginji asked.

She shook her head. "There will be no announcement to the newspapers about this find. If they notice, their questions will be entertained, but otherwise, it's another piece in the extended Chinese artifacts exhibit. Besides," she gave them a knowing look, I have a learned a few more things about adequeate security systems since I met the GetBackers."

But Ban's thoughts were drifting to the Jade Dragon itself. It would be the last time he would see it up close and without glass around it. Clayman and Hayashida would be taking the statue to the museum after a few hours. He patted Ginji, who gladly kept up the conversation with the art dealer. He sauntered into the large room with the pictures and the wooden crate, the old woman following him at a short distance.

He looked at the pictures that filled the room again. It would, hopefully, be the last time he would see this doppelganger. He stared again at the picture that started this whole mess, the young man with white hair, Chinese clothes, Japanese face, and unearthly demeanor. "Nice talking to you," he told the image, and moved on to the others.

He finally faced the old lady. "Thanks for all the help. If I ever dig up anything more about him, I'll let you know."

She bowed to him. "If you are indeed his descendant, or his reincarnation, do not make his mistakes."

He bowed back. "We'll see if I can actually do that."

He walked back to the Jade Dragon, ran his fingers through the base of the statue, and felt the engraved characters, one last time. As he did so, he remembered the old lady's words of fate.

- The eyes of the tiger are drawn to the heart of the dragon. -

"_Ban… Do you have the resolve to accept the cruel fated life which is yours? Some time in the future you will meet a thunder god and together you will come to aim for a higher place. From that fate you cannot escape."_

A white tiger with eyes that held dreams. A fire dragon with a tender heart. They would meet. They would come together. They would dream of reaching that higher place, with answers to who they both were.

- Death to the red dragon. -

"_But the thunder god will have two faces… Those two faces are two sides of the same coin. When he returns to his original form for the second time, to overcome the whole, you will have to make a cruelly fated choice. To kill the thunder god, or to be killed by the thunder god."_

Ginji? Raitei? Do that? And he, how soon would he have to make that fated choice?

He felt a tap to his shoulder. He looked behind him, and found his partner grinning.

"Case closed, Ban-chan," Ginji said. "Let's go home."

"Sure," and he ruffled his friend's hair.

There had been a few times, much like this one, when he wanted to just get away from making that fated choice. If he stayed away from him, maybe he did not have to kill or be killed. But getting away from him, for some reason, only made him more miserable. Because Ginji was part of him now, and he was part of Ginji. His past was tied to that of his friend, his future knit to his friend's.

Maybe the future might have terrible plans for them both, but they would face it head-on, together.

He would save this case, in a file at the back of his head. It was just another piece of the puzzle. The puzzle they would someday finish, and see the portrait it would make. It would show his past, his friend's past, and their future.

Whatever happens, they would finish that picture, together.

- Owari –

……………………………

Excerpt directly taken from takadainmate's summary/translation of chapter 19 of the Lost Time arc, with permission. Also, those expenses were hard to make up, so please be kind. I know they're rather a bit too generous (especially in the labor charges), but it took quite some planning and computing to make 2 million disappear.

Final replies: **Atropos' Knife – **I agree about the Ladybug. The gushing, I didn't know where else I could place it, so it went there. Thank you so much for being so nice but objective about "Tenshi". **Taiy-chan – **I said, I live by Kenshin's oath in my writing. Kenshin will maim and will knock unconscious, but he will not kill. Besides, I don't have the guts to kill off characters. **JML – **Major compliment to be given a shakedown by you, thank you. **Hunter – **Thanks much! **Tenshi-sama – **Wow, you must be a pretty good singer! Congrats on singing with Kitchie. I hope this chapter answers your question.

My major thanks to Atropos' Knife for all the support, encouragement, clarifications and corrections. A combination of honest comments and nice compliments is a welcome thing to any writer. Thanks also to takadainmate and her summaries of the recent GB manga chapters. We all salute your kindness for summarizing the adventures of "the ambiguously gay duo". Thanks to sapphichan for the initial encouragement that I could do this and get away with it.

Thanks to the following crazy sources of inspiration during the writing: the Elizabeth hotel, that dragon I found at the orchid farm souvenir shop, Hei-san, AK's "The Prize". Finally, even if I try to deny it, I was influenced in the writing by Animax's English dub for GB. I can't help it. I hear Ban and Ginji in almost every anime that channel has, because their dubbers keep doing the lead roles. I still like the original Japanese voices the best, though.

Thanks to the rest of the reviewers and the readers who gave this story such a high hit count.

Because I'll be going into clerkship next year (hopefully!), Eyes of the Tiger will most likely be the only multi-chapter story I will make for the GB section. Hopefully I'll be able to make one-shots now and then.

Once again, thank you so very much to all of you. Even with the mistakes, I'm proud of this work, and it was a blast making it.

EK out.


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